​Amable

The wind is between bursts
Space around the stillness
Of the Longwood trees
And the red and brown leaves

I go in past my friend the guard
Who is drumming in his head
And smiling between the beats

Up the stairs to Neurology tutorial
To describe the wiring and firing of the cortex
And the limbic limbs that go straight to the heart

I think of Yeats and his gyres
The cortex and its gyres
And when tutorial ends I go to the cafeteria to see Maria

She smiles at me across her salad bar and the tears in
Her eyes are points of light when she hugs me to say hello
And how are you sweetie and you look so happy and bless you

Today I am practicing to be a doctor
I hug her quickly and ask what happened at the appointment

The appointment was beautiful she says
But the pronouncement was terrible

They can do no nothing no more

At night eating dinner in my kitchen
The wind is banging at the window

A student chases his frisbee across the quad
Above him the rain clouds are blowing away

In the puddles of rain
There are puddles of light and sky
And rivulets of leaves
Circling the shore

There is the possibility of drowning
But I look up at the waves of wind
And my body breathes

I remember the points of light in Maria’s eyes
And what she told me to do today
Pray

Dave Soskin
Written in Memory of Maria Guerrero

For an article about Maria's life click here.