A Note From the Author's Wife

A Note from the Author's Wife

This is not one of Ben's poems.

As we read through these poems during this very
difficult part of our lives, both of us were deeply moved
by what we had shared.

We don't have a lot of money but we are the
most wealthy couple I know, because of the love
between us.

Brain cancer (Gliomablastoma Multiforma) is very
hard on the whole family.  Ben's brain no longer
functions properly.  He often cannot understand simple
commands like "stop" or "wait".  Reading these
poems to him has stimulated him to write more of them.

I can barely read what he has written but I read them 
aloud while he tries to fill in the parts I can't understand.  
He has written over 12 poems in one week. 

The above note was written late in 2003 while he was still alive.

Today is 7/22/2020 and as I read this post this morning I flashed back on the day I brought the poems he'd given me over the years out into the living room.  I was reading them while my daughter Heidi was typing them into the computer.  

When she read the first one, Ben was listening closely.  
"That's really good," he said, "Who wrote that."
"You did," I said.
"I did?" The tears ran down his cheeks as he pondered that.
"Bring me some paper and a pencil," he demanded, "I'm going to write some more.

He was serious about that and he did write some more.  Mostly he wrote "I love you".  He wrote on top of what he wrote.  He wrote sideways down the page.  He wrote off of the paper. But he wrote and he wrote and he felt joy for doing it.

I printed out his poetry in little booklet form and in card form ETC.  It was fun.  He was going to sell them at the Christmas Bazaar in 2005 but he died in October.