the lady in the hallway

once again, my heart cracked open.

we were walkin' back to his room.
i was behind them. we passed a woman
in a wheelchair in the hall crying.

she looked up at me, caught my eyes
and pleaded 'help me....'

i stopped.
bent down.
what's the matter? i asked.

the tears were running down her face.
she didn't know where she was and she
wanted to go home.

i had worked in a nursing home when i was
in my early twenties. i remember some of
the struggles.

i knew this was prolly a regular thing with
her. but i couldn't just walk away.

i knelt beside her. listened to her.
she asked me where we were. i laughed with
my guy later when i told him the story....
told him i couldn't figure out where we were
either....i kept thinking 'what city are we in??'
and before i could figure out where we were
we went on to something else.
i laughed and told him one confused woman tryin'
to help another. what a picture.

i asked her where she was from.

italy.

italy! i exclaimed! tell me about italy!
where in italy?
she named some town i never heard of.
i laughed and told her if it wasn't rome or
something like that i wouldn't know.

she wandered again.
are you scared, i asked her?
she said yes.
i told her that everyone was really nice
here and put my arm around her.

will you tell me more about italy? do they
have olive trees there?

ya see, i'm a geography dunce. spaghetti.
olives. maybe. i don't know.

she came over when she was a young girl.
her dad loved it over here. he came back and
forth between the countries, then brought the
family.

she talked in italian.
it was beautiful.
i asked her how to say 'i love you' in italian.

i had to repeat it several times before i got it
right. and yeah, i've already forgotten it.
but i haven't forgotten her.

someone came by to help her.
i went on my way...

we were gettin' ready to leave. i went in to say
goodbye. on our way out, my guy stopped at the front
desk. i went out and sat outside. my heart was
wide open. and the tears came down my own face.
they were tears for her.

what's it like to be lost like that?
to not know where you are?
to want to go home?
to be afraid.

i sat there lost in it all.

he came out, saw me and asked what was whirlin'
inside me....it took me awhile before i could get
it out with him. he's good that way. he gives me
time.

later that nite, i cried and told him.
and told him that i wanted to cherish the moments.
cause they were all we had.

her eyes are still with me.
her voice saying 'help me....' still in my ears....

she is what i took home with me on this trip of ours...
she cracked my heart wide open.