I just called
To say
Hello.
To check
On you.
It has been a year
Since he died.
You are not in.
It is Peter’s confident voice
I hear
On the answerphone.
‘Pete and Jo aren’t in, please leave a message.’
Pete’s voice so strong,
The bounce,
Energy,
Vigour
Still audible
Across time.
I am sorry he’s gone.
This is based upon my recent experiences phoning a patient’s wife.
I had met the patient a few days earlier.
He is a shell.
In a care home. He is not able to engage in conversation.
A few broken sentences,
Not fixed in place or time
Are all that he can say.
I try to connect,
And,
Not even eye-contact is feasible;
Most patients responding to my smile,
For this man
Its magic was absent.
And the voice
On the phone,
Not ‘Pete’
Yet,
Just as confident
As full of life and humour and energy
Was still present,
A ghost
A shadow
Of the man.
The snippets,
Voice recordings
And audio,
Even writings
Are elements of our immortality
That will last beyond our decline.
Dr Rod’s Odd Blog (almondemotion) 