Notice how the breath feels
as it moves in and out of your body
for the next 3 breaths
image by M. Lee Freedman
Tea and Smoked Cheese
by Steve Dart
The cadence of his knock, so familiar
from many visits past.
Sight unseen, I knew it was him.
My old acquaintance come again -
an uninvited caller.
Like a gatekeeper, I opened the door slightly,
set for confrontation, for denial of entry.
Yet as quickly as a shapeshifter,
he slipped past, through
a crack, seemingly too small,
and settled into my parlour.
Ready to spin his tales of
woe and misery of
desperation and despair.
Then regaling me with stories of
amazing journeys
we could take together.
Wanderings to distant places of
comfort and calm.
I made tea and served smoked cheese
as he continued to weave his web.
Yet as I studied his face,
lined, gaunt, unshaven,
eyes sunken so deeply as
to be barely recognizable,
I knew he was not believing his own stories.
Politely I listened until he was spent,
offered more tea, then
gently eased him out through
the same, small opening.
I watched him go
floating, melting,
evaporating into mist,
certain as I could be that
this visit would be his last.
Wishing you a mindful day
Lee
M. Lee Freedman, MD,CM, FRCP(C)
