The way, of course.
Your mind, your head,
your hope, your heart.
Face. Your footing. Virginity.
Shirt buttons. Coat buttons.
Breath. Bearings.
Balance. Your deposit.
Your dignity.
Respect. Perspective.
Quarters and pens
between the car seats.
Your accent. Your appetite.
My trust. Baby teeth.
Your innocence. Sunglasses.
Your job. Your cool.
Your shirt. Your gut.
Your grip. Your hair.
The key to the house.
The key to your car.
The key to staying calm
when something crucial is lost.
Like time. Like memories—
the ones in which we had no clue
just how much we had to lose.
Like our nerve. Like our fear.
Like this day, our only chance
to show up. Like this now,
our next chance to let go.
Though I fear it may not be as powerful or convincing, please, please write a “things that can be gained” version of this
great idea …
Your health? That’s a biggie for many, including me.
oh yeah, that’s a big one.
I added it.
remarkable! so mind-expanding, with so much to enlarge our concept of what we are equipped with (gifted with), and so much to offer direction and potential! Youdunnitagain!! Thanks again, Rosemerry!
oh you! Thank you … this one was fun to write–so much, so little, to lose
[…] three weeks before I stopped seeing patients in the clinic, I wrote in response to a poem titled “Things That Can Be Lost.” I wasn’t consciously thinking about the imminent loss of relationships with my patients. At […]