House Call
An African-American man
White-stubbled face, humming breath
Strokes a black, wrinkled Bible
With hardened fingertips
Speaks his hard-working history
Through smiling, cracked lips
Round eyes rock
Mismatched sock press
His dusty porch
Aging Leaves drop
With ease
Filling his front yard:
1929, Manhattan frozen
night club pay day
dark streets, barefoot children
warm coins given away
1961, smoky Chicago
spicy pastries, greens
glowing cigarettes, ringing wine
folded napkins clean
1990, Chapel Hill house call
sight and sound limp
cancer in bones
just listen and sit.
Article Created: 2001-06-22
Article Updated: 2001-06-22
"Reflections" is a collection of essays by the health professionals of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
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