The blog where we remember a young poet...

Last week, I had the pleasure of reading a young poet's work, shared with me by his mother.

Brendan passed away on February 24th at the age of 20 from brain cancer. His book of poetry has been accepted for publication. It is available for purchase here.

I tried to think of a way to describe Brendan's words. The simple efficiency of a quote... his word choice. But, I realized his words speak most boldly for themselves.

Please enjoy:

A Leaf of Knowledge

I don’t know
what the doctor means by “mostly”
within the radiation field
I don’t know
for how long I will need this cane
I don’t know
what the scan will look like one month,
four months,
four years from now.

All I know is the air that I breathe in this instant--
spring's sweet whisper—
into my lungs,
my friend at my side,
his broad hand between my shoulder-blades,
the living G-d,
the love of my friends and family,
and the warm skin of her knee,
onto which I lay my cheek, to sleep.

Sarah Wainio

Volunteer Coordinator