Left

Left © By Holly W. Schwartztol Early on that morning I wracked my brain Trying to solve A computer glitch As I left the wretched machine I rose and felt suddenly dizzy And as the room spun I chided myself Saying this isn’t worth Your having a stroke I lay down on the bed Listened to a disc That promised Relaxation and rest My head stopped throbbing And the phone rang The caller ID said Mother What was she doing at Home in mid-morning? Only the voice on The other end Wasn’t hers But the Maid I’d never met Telling me of mother’s Neck pain and strange speech And then I knew That my pain had Really belonged to her That my dizziness Reflected hers and that It was she who was In fact having a stroke Frantic calls ensued Between Miami and New York A neurologist Saying that the stroke Had been massive That the prognosis was grim Words of paralysis And irretrievable Brain damage I faxed the living will Which is really the Will of the living isn’t it? We sat by her bedside For four endless days And then her breath Was no more and she was gone. And at 62 I was Suddenly an orphan Both parents gone The older brother Having gone 40 years ago How do I live in This world On this planet As the lonely satellite The last member Of my nuclear family Here to sift through The pictures And the letters And all the memorabilia that Make up a life