I work
At an assisted
Living purgatory,
Where I slave away
The day,
In hopes,
That the little I do
For my clients,
Can make
a second
Of their limbo
Worth it,
Their lives,
Rely on my ability
To stay true
to my purpose,
So even on the days,
When I clock in
On worthless,
I still find ways
To mold myself,
Into a safe space,
Where they can be,
More than the disabilities,
It’s tragic
But most people,
will never see their magic
like I do,
Naw fr,
I’ve seen miracles,
Like Jonah
Who was born with
With one lung
And folded hands
But learned
To paints murals
With his toes,
There are those,
Who have
Never seen Joey Walk on water,
But the waves
Of the ocean
Painted on his floor
Boards
Told stories of divine
Intervention,
A portrait Of Joey’s will
To survive,
And he tried,
But when God gives you
The heart of a lion,
He also gives you
The toughest battles
To fight,
Y’all,
I ain’t seen the ocean
The same
Since the lord
Put out
Joey’s light
See they don’t tell you
About the pain,
That haunts
When your clients die
They just give you a bonus,
As If their passing
is something
To be praised for,
And isn’t it crazy?
How we caregivers,
make burdens
Of the people we’re
Supposed to care for?
In truth, My coworkers
Would rather ignore
Our client’s talents
Steady focused
on the things
they can’t change,
Rather than
empowering them
To fight the battles they can
That’s why
I refuse
To Be the stepping stone
That folds
I affirm my new client
daily,
I tell bob,
He’s as beautiful,
As his music
That I love the way
he plays his recorder,
Remind him
That his off key Rythm
Is still a tune
Worth listening to,
I thank him
For this gift Of Song
A melody
to sooth
the terminally depressed
The last Ballad
learned at his mother’s death bed,
He tells me
to thank her instead
And I’m reminded,
That this is
The only way he knows
To mourn,
That there is no disorder,
To stop a child
From missing his mother
I’m reminded
that most days,
I am all he has,
And we’ve both seen death
too many times,
To not know it’s coming,
So when my bobby boy,
Tells me,
Sometimes
you smile a lot like my mom,
What’s he’s saying is,
I’ve seen what happens
When you squeeze Out Joy you don’t have,
From a heart,
That’s given up
On beating for itself
He tells me,
It’s ok to take a nap If I’m tired
That he’ll be good,
Just like mama taught him,
I say “thank you,
But I ain’t sleeping on you Homie
And besides
If I close my eyes,
I promise,
They won’t open,
And right now,
I just Really
can’t afford to die here,
I will not be another song,
For your recorder,
I say thank you,
And mean it,
Because honestly,
I’m grateful for the days,
He lets himself
become my reason
To survive.