Pink Peppermint (Joiner, J)

The Human Touch ©

"Nurse," he asked me trembling,
"Have you seen people die?"
His eyes, they fixed upon me
And I feared we both would cry.

"Nurse," he whispered softly,
"There's things I need to know--
They tell me that I'm dying,
And it's likely to be slow."

"Sir," I answered primly,
"I don't think it's my place--"
"Not so!" he answered firmly,
"If you've judged the coming race."

His eyes, they were unblinking,
As they held me in their grasp,
"Nurse, you've got to help me
Perform life's final task.

"You see, I have a grandson,
And he looks up to me--
And whatever happens now,
That boy is bound to see.

"I want to be an inspiration
He can draw on all his life--
Like-- like the way is was for me
When I lost my dear wife.

"She said that life is fragile
Like a hummingbird's frail wings,
But tough enough to bear the burden
Through whatever it's life brings.

"She said that strength sustains us
Where ever we might be,
And Nurse, you know it's true,
Cause she gave that to me.

"Nurse, I'm in my eighties
And this cancer's growing slow,
If only she were here to help me,
Well, then I would know.

"I'd know what I could tell him
To help him be a man,
And to snatch what love life offers
And to do the best he can.

"To love and not be fearful
To shed a heart felt tear
In love, and joy, and romance,
In having loved ones near.

"To know that being manly
Is just a state of mind,
That to balance strength and weakness,
A man must first be kind.

"Nurse, what shall I tell him,
Please tell me what to do--
You've seen people dying,
I must rely on you."

I shook my head in wonder,
The words, they just weren't there,
But I placed my hand so gently
Upon his silver hair.

"Nurse!" his smile was beauty,
"Thank you very much!
My Ethel said the wonder
Lies in the human touch!

"That's what I'll tell my grandson,
The words that Ethel gave to me
And the wonder of the human touch
That only God can see."

Beverly Hearn Cook