Herewith, the latest selection from dusted-off published poetry and short fiction, circa 1970s vintage and beyond....
Compassion For Hire
She is seventy-three
sits awkwardly
before me
reciting a spiritless litany
of wrongs done her
...... lonely
and confused
voice caressing
thought of the poor creature
so little understood
...... a one
whose each day is a travail
of survival
until life becomes a mockery
of the past
when a tenuous companionship
was hers
and hers cared.
Now she is the only one
who cares
...... for her
and she does,
a great deal
yet dedication cannot
allay the futility of coping
in such a cold world.
I listen
and murmur support
think of myself
in thirty years
and hope for better. I
offer her
sincere encouragement. She
offers me the gratitude of cold
hard cash.
c. 1981 Rita Rosenfeld
published in Mamashee, Summer Issue 1981
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