For over 25 years Henry Denander has worked on the business side of the entertainment industry. He is also the editor of Kamini Press. His poetry and artwork can be viewed on his website. You may find “Nursing” and “My Funny Valentine” in his latest book of poetry, Accidental Navigator, Lummox Press, 2011.
*****
Nursing
When I came back from the hospital
I wanted to tell my son about what
they had done to me;
I’d suffered from a really painful
kidney stone and I had rushed
to the hospital to get it removed.
I told him there’d been one doctor and
two nurses present and I was about to tell how
they had performed a cystoscopy; by inserting a
long instrument through my very private parts
they had removed the stone from my bladder.
I told my 10-year old son
the nurses had started by cleaning
my “weenie”.
William interrupted me:
– Did there really have to be two nurses to do that? he said
It was a good question.
My Funny Valentine
The first flat of my own in Stockholm was
really small but in a nice area on one of
the islands south of the old town.
My girlfriend often stayed with me,
since her own flat was way out
in the suburbs.
The two of us never rang the
doorbell but used
the squeaking mail slot in the door;
when it was opened slowly it made a sound that
could be heard in the flat
and made you rush to the door.
You knew who was there.
Years later, we have been
married for some time,
having dinner in our new flat
listening to a recording of
Miles Davis
playing at Philharmonic Hall in New York
in 1964.
My Funny Valentine
Suddenly, half way into the song,
we both look up and listen,
Miles Davis is improvising and
playing a
long
single
note
the exact
tone
of that
squeaking mail slot
We smile
and feel proud
to share
this small secret
with Miles.
