A Typical Schizoid Moment


Last year when Franco
Called from a cancer ward
Saying that he was dying
And would be dead
In a few days

I was silent.

My only thought: What am I supposed to do about it?
He continued to speak and said that
This would be our last chance
To speak in this lifetime.
He said this because he knows that I believe in reincarnation.

So I said, yes…. it was our karma to have met
In this life time and that I hoped that his doctors
Would ease his passing
And help him to leave his body painlessly
He said: “Thank you.”
I said: “You are welcome.”
We both hung up.

When his housekeeper left me a message a few days later saying that he had died.
I felt only relief that it was over……and that he would not be calling me anymore.

I could breathe again.
He, like many others, had come and gone......

And my emotional and intellectual space
Was once more intact and inviolate.