I
want to know you
Not just by a distorted body
Due to the ravages of disease and treatments
Or by a mind that no longer functions.
I want to know your birthplace,
Your history, your travel experience,
And your journey through life.
I want to know your ambitions,
Your hopes and desires, your unfulfilled dreams,
Your marathons of life.
But you are too sick to tell
With end stage diagnoses
Cascading so quickly.
I still want to know you.
Why?
Because I only see a fragment
Of what you were.
I wish I had known you!
--Joan A., Adult