Precious Pain

I want to touch you with tender hands

as I’d hold a newborn baby

or stroke a sleeping pet

or caress a loved one’s brow.

I want to lie beneath

a blanket of wisdom with you

while the whole world circles us,

mending the hem.

But bees sting, curt replies, careless eyes,

and my lungs inflate with rage

that wants to be expelled.

The hardest job is

holding my breath

until the pain returns.

It’s not for you.

Ariele Huff leads writing groups at four senior centers: Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, and Greenwood. She also teaches online and on site classes at Everett and Cascadia Community Colleges and through the Bridges to Shoreline program at Shoreline Community College (a funded program with really inexpensive workshops) and at Edmonds Parks Department. Email her at ariele@comcast.net to get a quarterly flyer.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

SHARING STORIES is featured on http://www.northwestprimetime.com, the website for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. The newspaper can be found in the greater Seattle area and other Puget Sound locations. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit http://www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type “sharing stories” in the search function above.