a predator lurks

a wholeness still possible

a cunning predator lurks nearby all of us,
and we can ignore it
while in the herd,
or obsess about it
like a bird with its paranoic eyes,
or somewhere in between,
while we each live a life,
somehow we can be both in the moment
and also in the possible futures that might lie before us,

my sister-in-law has been knocked down by cancer
and lies in the hospital,
held in the loving arms of family and friends,
yet also in the capable hands of nurses, technicians, and doctors,
whose jobs are a calling to hold the predators at bay,
and to give care to the wounded,
that they might feel the wholeness till possible
with what help can be given,
and with what healing each can muster
when given the right chance.

by Henry H. Walker
February 18, ’12