Phantom Pain - Part One He didn't hear the screeching tires or the sirens when they came. As he lay there on the blacktop He felt no fear or pain. He wondered how he got there In the stillness of this night, The last thing he remembered Was the glare of that head light. And then he looked on down the road And saw the mangled steel, The handle bars and spinning tires, Broken struts and upturned wheels. In that very instant He began to feel the pain. He saw the river of his blood. Felt his life force as it waned. Phantom Pain - Part Two He woke up to a myriad Of people dressed in white Who spoke in quiet voices Like whispers in the night. And then a kindly doctor Sat down beside his bed "There's no easy way to tell you, son, The things that must be said." "We used every bit of skill we had To try to save your life And God was there among us To guide the hand that held the knife." "You'll live to love another day and be your mother's son But you'll do it in a different way, Not with two legs but with one" The anger festered in his heart He cursed and cried and swore As he tried to wrap his brain around This new adjective he wore. Handicapped was not a word That slid gently from his lips And so he said he wouldn't be This was just a little blip. Phantom Pain - Part Three First there came a walker Then crutches two by two As his broken body mended, his spirit once again broke through His new leg finally came to him Made of steel and wood Maybe not a real one But he's a man and now he stood. What lingered through the months and years With no words to explain, The sudden stabs of agony Known as phantom pain. The doctors told of causes and spoke in scientific terms. No one said its primal Your loss must be reaffirmed. The sudden loss of what was there and shall never be again deserves its recognition like the mourning for a friend So phantom pain is part of life The reminder of the loss, Of this sudden separation And the ache its endless cost.
You are an Awesome friend to Barry, for a Tough old Yankee Broad. I think you may have a pure heart of gold!