Poem, “Jumper On The Ledge”

JUMPER ON THE LEDGE

Jumper on the ledge

That’s been me

From time to time

Many times

Grad school, home care, when Emilee died.

Now not so much, but not far from the edge.

I find joy talking to

A jumper on the ledge

Seeing if

Using my scarred heart

I can use words and emotions

Taking their words and emotions

Gently opening the suggestion

That they come back, away

From so close to the edge.

Usually a cancer patient

Before, during, or after

Sometimes especially after

After the ravages of radiation

And chemo

Poisons we are NOT supposed to be exposed to

And they look in the mirror

And don’t know who they are anymore

And don’t know if they want to be

A shadow of before

Physical beauty beat to a pulp

It is very rough

To find one’s raw core and say

From here I can rebuild

From here I still find hope

From here I still have love

It is very rough

But usually

They inch away from the ledge, the edge

And come inside for a while

Neal Klein
Life After Emilee, on the loss of my wife to pancreatic cancer. I’m not accepting comments right now but please feel free to get in touch via my Contact page.