The Sick Boy at the Table
who – will do anything
for the sick boy
tied to the dinner table?
last night he picked
up his chair – tossed
it at our window, crammed
his head near broken glass
squinted and then – laughed . . .
who – will talk to the
sick boy tied to the
breakfast table?
yesterday he pulled a
knife from our kitchen
drawer – sliced the
curtains to shreds –
struck a match to light
rags. . .
who – will untie a sick boy
from the lunch table?
his wrists bleed, his hands
are useless, fingers white,
and his feet – blue.
who- will cover up the
sick boy in white sheets?
When he is let loose
on city streets. . .
Nancy Duci Denofio
(c)2011 all rights reserved
A wonderful piece, but destroyed by the photo caption of a black kid! If this poem is about kids, there are all manners of children all over the world who fit into the stanza and lyrics of this Nancy Duci Denofio’s poetic grandeur. Am I to think the publisher is twisted and suffers a limitation in the study of geography to know that there are children suffering in every nook and cranny of the world?
I do not see color, or single people out. Every child should have a change in this world. To love a child, or to help a child, has nothing to do with race or color. Sincerely, Nancy
I don’t see any color in the poem or the photo. He’s a young boy. To me this is more about the consequences of how our society tries to keep the mentally ill ‘chained’ to give them the so-called help they need. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, we let them loose without any medical care and expect them not to become a part of the streets. Dead or in jail?
Igrund you have told it exactly how I saw the image as I wrote the poem. It was a perfect review – you have a keen eye to what society is all about, and flipped the coin to other children in need of help, chained to the table, and chained without help. Sincerely, Nancy Thanks.
Now that you mention it, I realize the kid in the picture is black.
The only thing that struck me initially was the expression of this boy and the feeling it conveyed. It matches the poem perfectly.
Thank you, Nancy, for another heartfelt piece!
I agree with the facial expressions one hundred percent, my thoughts immediately, and how a child would react in such a situation. Thanks for the note. Sincerely, Nancy