Best Internet: Slow Dance

This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.                                       

 Her last wish was to have as many people as possible to read her poem:

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a 
butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun                                                                                                                            into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?

When you ask                                                                                                                           How are you?

Do you hear 
the reply?

When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores 
Running through your head?

You'd better                                                                                                                                slow down

Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.

The music won't last.
Ever told your child, 

We'll do it 
tomorrow?

And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die 

Cause you never had time 
To call and say, 'Hi'

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.
The music won't last

When you run 
so fast to get somewhere

                                              You miss half the fun                                                                                                                    of getting there 

When you worry and hurry 
through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower

Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Downtown Rochester, New York

My wife recently had a successful back operation at Highland Hospital in Rochester. She stayed on the sixth floor. Doctors and staff were great. And something else was great: the view from her window. You could see downtown Rochester, including Kodak and other important buildings. We actually saw a fantastic sunset over Rochester #12 School. I always feel a nostalgic when I see  an elementary school--that is, I wish that I was in it performing poetry.


I had no camera until the next day. So, I took this shot in the morning...

Not far from Mar's room there was a visitor's lounge where I took this photo through a smudged-caked window...

Home Sweet Home!