Wednesday Poetry Corner

When the sun comes after rain

And the bird is in the blue,

The girls go down the lane

Two by two.

When the sun comes after shadow

And the singing of the showers,

The girls go up the meadow,

Fair as flowers.

When the eve comes dusky red

And the moon succeeds the sun,

The girls go home to bed

One by one.

And when life draws to its even

And the day of man is past,

They shall all go home to heaven,

Home at last.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow--

I played hooky from my job yesterday. It was something I had to do. It's been so cold, dreary, and damp here in the city, and it has definitely been playing havoc on these old bones. It's become so painful just walking back and forth to the subway. My sciatica is still acting up some, I have arthritis in my knees, and to top all that off, I've developed a pain on the top of my  foot that makes walking so uncomfortable.  All this is further enhanced by this weather.  This cold and damp just never seems to end.

When I came home from work on Monday, I already knew I wasn't going in on Tuesday. When I got up in the morning and saw that the rain had stalled I tried, I really did try, but I couldn't do it.  It was later in the afternoon that I realized it wasn't the pain, the rain, or burnout.  I just had to take some time to gather myself together.  As  you all know, I work in a mental health program with drug and alcohol users.  I also work with clients on parole.  I've come across many different people during my  years in this field, but Monday was the 'first' time I came face-to-face with a true sociopath. 


You see them on television shows all the time and wonder how someone can be so devoid of feelings. I won't even repeat the story he told in group. It wouldn't be fair to you. Suffice it to say, it is a picture I cannot get out of my mind.  What was even more upsetting was the fact that he couldn't stop laughing.  To him, the cruelty he spoke about was the funniest thing he ever saw in his life. 


And as I tried to stop him from continuing, he began talking faster and faster in his haste to get the story out.  Several members got up in left the group.  He couldn't fathom what he had done so wrong.  Then, one of the young ladies spoke up about it, he flew out of his chair and tried to egg her on into a physical altercation.  Mind you, he's a 300 pound man and she a 120 pound women.  All staff came running, and we did manage to put a halt to the violence before it began, thank goodness, because he would have killed her, but, the events of the day were still with me yesterday, draining me.  I just wanted to sleep, and sleep is what I did.  I pulled the covers over my head and spent most of the day in bed.  


The rain and the cold and the dampness are still with us today, but I'm feeling pretty much up to par today.  This is the career I chose to work in, and I can't run away from it.  All I can do is regroup as I did yesterday and do my best to help those who really depend on me.  Thanks for letting me share.