The Curve Ball
-After a neurological diagnosis
The first time I remember involuntarily swooning
was on a plane to or from my brother Jim’s funeral
to or from sitting with my brother Dan
when he died a few weeks after we buried Jim
But I swooned before that
when I fell hard on the gym floor
fainting at the age of 13
I was already a body rocker
slamming on car seats and couches
ignoring the complaints of my brothers and sisters
I never rode the Roller Coaster at Paragon Park
The Rotor and Tilt-a-Whirl made me sick
I made up tricks to know my right from left
and algebra gave me a seizure aura
I lost my balance in a poker game
while practicing to fold
Everyone was playing with a 52-card deck
while I was playing with 30
on a good day
I followed behind my mother
walking in Provincetown
Her every shuffled step
was a thought-out decision
When she was 90 she said
“I don’t fall, I put myself down”
She would have been happy then
to be carried up and down the stairs
I said, “I’m clumsy unless I’m dancing
like a stutterer who stutters until they sing”
I was thrown a curve ball
that I couldn’t catch
I was left sidelined for the long haul
I laid low and shook a leg
I took a detour and started over
When I hit a nerve in a dizzy spin
I said, “No one will ever
take my car keys away
I’ll gladly turn them in”
_________Colleen Redman / dVerse Poets Pub / Poets and Storytellers United
June 6th, 2024 4:19 pm
this is marvellous – a joy to read and re-read too the way you swoon and fall through the years with family, your mother
“Her every shuffled step
was a thought-out decision
June 6th, 2024 5:19 pm
Colleen I like the clever phrasings in your poem. Favorites:
“I was thrown a curve ball
that I couldn’t catch”
When she was 90 she said
“I don’t fall, I put myself down”
Not sure what condition has followed 2 generations but you and your mom adapted to it.
June 6th, 2024 6:51 pm
As ever, this is enchanting Colleen – so full of life, vivid memeories, experience and joyful humility… You are singing here for sure… A real pleasure to read
June 6th, 2024 7:02 pm
Living life on the floor probably wasn’t your plan. Or your mother’s plan.
June 7th, 2024 2:01 am
Sounds to me like you have dealt with that curve ball rather well! (But I see it must be a bore and a chore to be always having to deal with it.)
June 7th, 2024 3:49 am
Great poem I love “I was thrown a curve ball
that I couldn’t catch”
I recognise a lot although I only fainted once.
I’m clumsy unless I’m dancing Same for me
These thempark rides make me sick as well
June 7th, 2024 4:54 am
Involuntary swooning. Never heard it called that before but like that description.
June 7th, 2024 2:12 pm
Whatever your condition you seem to have met it head on with good attitude and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed your poem.
June 7th, 2024 3:27 pm
Stunning, simply stunning. I have read it multiple times, each time discovering something new. BRAVA BRAVA.
June 7th, 2024 5:19 pm
Your story was very interesting. A lot of us have gone through life with one or more of these issues. You have described them very well in your poem.
June 7th, 2024 11:37 pm
I fell from a hayloft and also passed out for a short time. About a month ago I fell from walking with my cane at 4AM on my way to the bathroom. Had to call the neighbors to get me up. Since my daughter and son, younger ones, have made me use a walker. That does help a lot.
Moral, so maybe a walker of sorts would help you here.
..
June 13th, 2024 8:28 pm
I followed behind my mother
walking in Provincetown
Her every shuffled step
was a thought-out decision
When she was 90 she said
“I don’t fall, I put myself down”
She would have been happy then
to be carried up and down the stairs
I love the wording in these stanzas!