Photo by David Corliss
Wind gusts at fifty
wreaked havoc on her for hours.
So she said, “Enough,”
and she up and left,
carrying all she calls hers
to Buffalo’s banks.
Her now-vacated
western shore gets foot traffic,
sans ruby slippers.
© Marie Elena Good, 2025
Hundreds of billions
of stars in the universe
pale when compared to
the tens of trillions
of nonexistent dollars.
American debt.
© Marie Elena Good 2025
one trillion = 1,000 billion
Perrysburg Mercy Health
Thursday July 29, 2025
Keith experienced
classic heart attack symptoms.
Said, “Call 911.”
Very unlike Keith,
and so he didn’t have to
tell me more than once.
A look and some tests
showed no sign of heart attack.
Phew! But what happened?
July 31, 2025
Back in the E.R.
for STAT echo with contrast.
This, our new St. Luke’s?
Medical Test Findings:
He is well nourished.
His reproductive organs?
* Unremarkable.
August 2, 2025
Gallbadder all along?
Back in the E.R.
More tests have resulted in
admission. Thankful.
August 3, 2025
6:46 a.m.
Spoke with Keith’s nighttime
nurse. He slept well. Still no word
on surgery time.
Afternoon
No surgery yet.
First will come more heart tests, then
gallbladder comes out.
August 4, 2025
9:30 a.m.
Nuclear stress test
(a four-hour test) followed by
an echo-something
8:00 p.m.
A 30-minute
gallbladder removal turns
into two hours.
Anterior wall
is the only thing removed.
The remainder is
too attached to the
liver. Apparently they’re
inseparable.
August 5, 2025
11:30 a.m.
After not eating
since 5 p.m. August 3,
Keith is transported
to St. Charle’s to have
surgery 2 in two days –
needs a bile duct stent:
another 30-
minute procedure that took
about two hours. Ugh …
5:00 p.m.
Keith is returned to
his first hospital in far
worse shape than he left.
Suffice it to say,
two surgeries in two days:
zero of ten stars.
After forty-eight
hours of no food or water,
and overheated,
there was ice water
for his throat, behind his neck,
on his head, and chest.
But other than that,
he didn’t want to be touched
not even by me.
He was beyond hot
(take that in every way)
and who could blame him?
August 6, 2025
Now his pancreas
has become enraged. Numbers
have skyrocketed:
Lipase, which should be
between zilch and one sixty
is at three thousand.
Other lab numbers
are also out-of-whack. So,
no discharge today.
Clear liquid diet
is better than nothing, right?
“Nothing” went too long.
August 7, 2025
FINALLY some FOOD!
He had flat, unseasoned eggs
that he loved, loved, loved!
Improving numbers
bring hope again for discharge.
Nope. Safer to stay.
August 8, 2025
Finally discharged!
Though he is still battling pain
and unwell feelings:
He paused at the door
and sighed deeply as he stepped
inside the kitchen,
slowly walked each room,
taking in the sight and scent
and feeling of home –
mentioning details,
like the way the sun glistens
on the wooden floors,
and the beauty of
the hydrangea tree that
graces our window.
We both recognize
how grateful we should be in
the midst of hardship.
We have access to
a clean, modern hospital
filled with good people
who take pride in what
they do – from the surgeons, to
the NPs, RNs,
doctors, LPNs,
those who prepare the food, and
those who bring the trays,
the housekeeping staff,
the various technicians,
and those we don’t see.
The warm smiles and waves.
The patience for their patients.
The words of comfort.
None of these details
went unnoticed, and all were
appreciated.
(c) Marie Elena Good 2025
* Keith laughed hysterically over this aspect of his test results report! HA!
This, not really poetic, is an accounting of this event in the lives of my husband and me. I like to write 5/7/5-syllable poems, statements, observations, or feelings that express my day. This is the collection from what began July 29 with classic heart attack symptoms that ended up being a gallbladder attack.
Just for the record: The long, involved surgeries mentioned were through no fault of the surgeons. Keith’s was just a very complicated case.
I may add more to this as the days of recovery continue. This is my way of recording.
Taking Time
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
First came playful pokes,
but I don’t think folks were fooled.
They saw the romance:
How his blue eyes danced,
and he would conceive a way
to leave together.
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
First came the warm smile,
with smiling eyes that crinkled
on the sides, and seemed
content as they gleamed,
holding a gaze long enough
to raise my heart rate.
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
First came the strong hand
that tenderly caressed mine,
and didn’t wander.
First came the strong heart
that tenderly addressed me,
and made me feel safe.
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
First came what makes me
feel prized. Believe it or not,
it's rubbing noses.
First came music that
always made me think of him.
First came spending time.
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
First came the months of
proving the worth I thought I
saw. The honesty.
Seeing how his dad
treats his mom opened my heart
to both of these men.
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and I’m glad it did.
The first kiss took time.
When it came, it came from a
heart of tenderness -
a heart that took time
to make sure it was ready
to say, “I love you.”
Attraction came fast,
but our first kiss took some time,
and now he is mine.
© Marie Elena Good 2025
REDEEMED
Not a trait from birth
nor my own making, but an
unmerited gift.
This gift describes me.
It labels and defines me.
It tells you I’m a
sinner-deemed-sinless,
ransomed by innocent blood —
a debt I can’t pay.
I’m liberated.
Rescued. Emancipated.
Bought back. Paid in full
by Jesus my Lord
with a love beyond measure
for me, and for you.
© Marie Elena Good 2025
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” (From the Holy Bible’s book of Ephesians 1:3,7, and 8.)
The Other Side
Can we count the blades
that seize carbon dioxide
and share oxygen
reduce pollution
even as they cool our air
and clean our water
aid noise reduction
provide wildlife habitat
support stress relief
offer a clean hill
for our children to roll down
(and we adults), and
furnish spongy space
for toddlers to toddle, while
tickling their piggies?
© Marie Elena Good 2025
And This is Love
No need for Hallmark-
gold-sealed card with fancy words
that someone else wrote.
I’ll take morning jokes
and/or hand-drawn hearts on a
yellow Post-it Note.
© Marie Elena Good 2025
S*U*R*R*E*N*D*E*R
Me, a young girl in
a whirlwind of sudden change.
Strange new surroundings.
Unsure what is real,
or who, in this new-to-me
space, can be trusted:
One who stands rusted;
one too timid to answer;
and you, straw dancer.
They win me over
(especially you), and they
chauffeur me to Oz
because, because, be-
cause, because – because they’re there,
and they care. Deeply.
Green skin. Broom. Smoke. Threats.
And me, tricked. I lost my friends
when I clicked my heels.
But to my surprise,
I see you in these eyes I’ve
always known, at home.
© Marie Elena Good 2025
“And heaven’s peace and perfect justice kissed a guilty world with love.” ~ Dyma gariad fel y moroedd
The Heart of Golgotha
Before He stepped foot,
He knew the path: Golgotha,
“the place of a skull.”
He knew it, for He
had formed it. Created it
with God His Father.
Before carrying
the crossbeam on this long path,
He created it
before man became;
before woman, born of man,
bore The Son of Man;
before the first sin
had ever been committed,
or life led to death,
and before you were
formed in your own mother’s womb,
He knew you, and He
chose you, and He chose
the horrific path He’d walk
and death He’d conquer.
It was a matter
of turning your face to Him;
of loving you first.
It was a matter
of bonding your heart to His,
for eternity.
© Marie Elena Good, 2025
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” ~ John 15:13
Twenty Twenty Five
My year’s focus word
is listen. I chose it, not
knowing what’s to come.
The last twenty days,
I see myself shouting on
social media.
The need to be heard
in daunting times is real, but
shouting gets tuned out,
so is left unheard.
And yet, the need is still there.
I can’t help but shout.
The last twenty days,
my listening turned to an
Intense need to scream.
I don’t scream outdoors
out of respect and care for
all of my neighbors.
I don’t scream indoors
for fear of terrifying
my loving husband.
I scream inside me,
silently, lest I drown out
my God’s still, small voice.
© Marie Elena Good, 2025
pictured words 