At The Library
by DR Varg
...was sittin' in my corner spot,
prepared to read my book.
I settled in, relaxed, peace-fraught;
then downward, I did look.
I'd crossed my legs. My shoe...did see;
was clear, within my sight.
It rested just atop my knee;
my comfort state: just right!
But then I saw a vista, that
caused me to sense alarm.
...could see my sock, from where I sat,
had come into some harm!
This footwear had a hole today!
'Twas due the shoe I wore.
It rubbed the sock in such a way,
a hole had hence, been tore!
I felt a sense of anger grow;
these socks were almost new!
I'd prob'ly worn them once and lo!
Their days were over; through!
I pondered this. "Oh! What a shame!"
Then t'wards my tome, did look.
I saw Roy Campanella's name;
my focus, it got shook.
"It's Good To Be Alive!" wrote he
in 1958.
He'd gone from: baseball's prodigy
to: quadriplegic state.
to be. He won the game.
And suddenly, he couldn't move;
could not e'en write his name!
I looked down at my damaged sock
containing, now this tear
and thought, "if that's my biggest squawk,
my loads not real unfair!"
These socks, so new, will now be tossed.
...in new ones, must invest.
But their brief life, it wasn't lost!
They showed me, I've been blessed.
|
David R. Varg (2-24-01) |
| note from Dave (8-14-01):
Roy Campanella's book was very inspiring to me. The poem "Acceptance" (which has been mistakenly attributed to him) is here. I also erroneously gave him credit as the author. He didn't write it. He discovered it while he was undergoing rehabilitation and it made a big impression on him. He referred to it in his book and after I read it (his book) I realized he wasn't the poem's author, nor did he ever claim to be. It was written by a wounded civil war soldier and the words are on a plaque which is hanging on the wall in the hospital. The message resonated with Campy and with me too! |