The door opens, we pause again.
Voices singing in the lobby drown out
her parents and the specialists alike.
I think they added bells this year,
the cheerful carols carefully chosen
to celebrate the season, not a faith.
A guitar picks up a riff, the same
one my daughter played so long ago
in her one embarrassed solo
on the school stage. A song both
fitting and ironic, about keeping up
the fight. Down the hall, their daughter
listens to the voices rise and fall.
The doors open, and the doors close.
4 thoughts on “Holiday Concert”
Beautiful poem Wynne! …and thoughtful commentary. Hope our paths cross soon. mk
An exquisite poem from a wonderful poet/physician that captures the vivid contrasts and tension inherent in hospitals which are so heightened this time of year.
always good to hear from Wynne, who always understates so carefully, so beautifully.
I loved this little piece. I’ve been in many hospitals. You want real life to come in – clowns, singers, comfort dogs and the like. But you also wonder how life can be carrying on when such drama and sadness and pain is happening in your world. Doors open & they close; sometimes it’s a bit of light, sometimes it’s just a painful reminder…