
A poem for Milty
By Claire Tromblee
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I sat there waiting,
I made a sigh
The phone made noise,
I looked at the sky.
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Nothing this hard
But like a walnut’s back,
I made myself stone;
Did not bend, did not crack.
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I thought it was good news
No sadness to the tone
But it changed with the way
He hung up the phone.
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Monday at five
The stone would be turning
To unveil the cold
But leave my cheeks burning.
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My mind searched for words,
But as much as I did try
No words came, but emotions,
But I did not cry.
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While he told me the news,
I knew it would come;
Sitting, waiting for my heart
To fast pace and bang the drum.
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To tell myself it’s alright
To make my face smile,
That Saturday I came to
And had a good time for awhile.
-
I might have wandered
Might have glazed over my eye,
But as much as I thought,
I did not cry.
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Sunday brought a good day
At first, from the start…
The good times slowed down,
The opposite of my heart.
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I stroked the milk down
’till the white turned to red,
And he searched for a body
So he could rub his head.
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Blindly he goes
Missing one eye,
It hit me at night,
But I did not cry
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Why was I so cold?
Not let the tears go
The warm would comfort
The loss of the snow.
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I woke and I rose,
And I couldn’t turn on
The light that I needed
To know he will be gone.
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Going to school
I told when they asked.
They looked sympathetic,
They questioned, they gasped
-
I wasn’t asking
For praise or for pity.
They told me all day
My decision was gritty.
-
I tried to answer
Why I wasn’t in despair.
Was I simply heartless?
Did I just not care?
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But of course I did,
For when it drew near,
I looked at the victim
And out came the tears.
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He cannot see.
He cannot hear.
He has no eye
To shed a sweet tear.
-
He had no idea
His fate in an hour.
His life would be gone,
He loses all power.
-
Simply moving around
Looking for a hand
To stroke his bloody head,
To make him understand.
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A prisoner
Trapped in the hands of fate
And soon passes over
Through the gate.
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I sat on the couch
And looked ‘cross the street
To the building in which
He and the end would meet.
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Or was it the beginning?
Was it merely a start?
Was the only thing stopping
The pace of his heart?
-
Time would only tell
And I looked at the sky,
Felt a salty warm tear…
And started to cry.
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RIP Milty – went to the other side of the gate March 3, 2008 after 15 years on this side…