Ruthie

cousin Ruthie just left
it’s a beautiful sunny day

the wind blowing hard

the trees shaking

the rising sun shining through our window

the clouds moving swiftly across Ramshorn Peak

cars speeding by on the highway

the bend in the river

I am moving around in my chair trying to get comfortable

Jackie typing this as I talk

oh Ruthie

baby Ruth

when she was born

the firm where her father worked

gave him a giant Baby Ruth candy bar banner

they were the accountants for the Curtiss Candy Company

she arrived on Thursday morning

she made us dinner every night 

and breakfast every morning

she organized my bookcases 

and helped me pay our bills

we found her father’s college graduation photo 

among my books

we found a folder of memorabilia 

from his and her sister’s funeral

we talked and told stories

we watched crime shows on Netflix

we did New York Times crossword puzzles

we played Yahtzee and she won

oh Ruthie who looks so much like her father

my favorite uncle

more like a big brother to me

He took me to my first baseball card convention

where we confirmed the Ted Williams card

we possessed was worth fifty dollars

yesterday was a very busy day

Randy came up with a hospital bed

redid the demo power chair 

he is lending me until mine is ready

he fixed it so I can now move 

through the doorways of the rooms

he raised and narrowed the armrests

which is taking some time to get used to

Ruthie and I cleaned off the last bookcase 

to make room for the bed

today she took our  tax package

to our accountant on the way to the airport

when we said goodbye she said

you will need to write a poem for me

tears stinging my eyes as she left

one last horn beep as she pulled out of the driveway

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Shabbat with Josh and Debby

Yahtzee!