For Joven

This is for a friend who is afflicted with an inborn genetic illness that causes brain deterioration after the age of 20. There is partial paralysis from the hips down, a progressive atrophy of the legs develop with time and the patient grows more and more dependent on those around him. My friend fell in love with a young girl whom he thought (or wanted to believe) loved him. After a while the girl left him  - and took their youngest daughter (8 months) with her, leaving him with their 2-year old daughter. Seeing him in his devastating physical and emotional state is unbearable.

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The first time I learned about it
My heart sank within me
I was filled with deep sadness
And a foreboding of tragedy
But it was your life not mine
And you were in love then
No words could deflect you
From the perceived bliss
For a time it was exactly that
But Truth reveals itself with Time
Even with Denial, it comes naked
The pain it brings is not sublime
Its anguish devours mercilessly
Deception is the cruel pill
That you must swallow now
It will not heal the genuine illness
Your body suffers from
Nor heal the heart hemorrhaging
From the loss, her leaving -
I suffer with you in silence
Regretting my unspoken words
That could have saved you, perhaps
And the little girl whose life
Now lies ...broken too.









Cynthia Buhain-Baello
July 10, 2012