“James,” a poem by Elizabeth Valenzuela

Note: Both “James” and the preceding poem “Dale” featured in my last blog post are collaborations. Elizabeth Valenzuela and I have known each other for more than half a century. When I rented a car and made a road trip to the Great Northwest recently, Elizabeth arranged for my lodging in Seattle, and we had many conversations during my stay. Time and again, when Elizabeth told me of her work with the homeless (whom she calls “unhoused”–I probably will too once I get used to it), I thought to myself, “I really should have an audio recorder going.” Before I left Seattle I did a draft of the poem “Dale.” Elizabeth read it and made some important revisions, correcting errors of fact and providing more context, and contributed the photos of Dale’s memorial leaf and the pic of them both. Then she wrote a draft of “James,” adopting the style I’d used for “Dale,” and then it was my turn to revise, mostly for cadence and consistency with “Dale.” When Elizabeth asked me to post “James” to my blog I told her I would need to use her name, since she was the author. She graciously gave me permission to do so.

James
by Elizabeth Valenzuela

Two weeks after Dale passed
Dr. Goodman called the woman
Who had brought Dale to her

“Would you be willing to meet James
After you have taken the time to recover
From Dale?”

The Doctor had known Dale
When he was wild
Well before he became “Sweet Dale”
Under the woman’s care

The woman took a deep breath
And she said “I’ll meet him this week.”

So James became the new Dale.

James had no known  family
Unhoused
Body and brain ravaged
By Huntington’s

James was kind and sweet

He called the woman Hot Lips
(His ashes were laid to rest under an evergreen 
Perennial Salvia, commonly known as “Hot Lips”)

He smoked constantly

He walked away
From his new Adult Family Home
Any number of times
At all hours of the day and night
The police drove him home a few times

He loved all things baseball
The Mariners especially
But smokers were not allowed
To smoke at Mariners games

So James swore to stop
If the woman took him to a game
Had his last cigarette
Before he boarded the train

And got a Mariner’s Jersey and hat
And a seat at the game
And never smoked again
Never even had to be reminded of his promise

Back from the game
He was transferred to a secure house
Which was for Level 3
Sex Offenders

James was not a sex offender
But housing
For the terminally ill unhoused
Was scarce

The woman went to see him
Every other day
Put on a brave face
Made it clear
That James was off limits
And she was most definitely off limits

James was languishing
Forlorn in body and spirit

The woman found him another placement
That would provide hospice care
When the time came

And James loved his new place
And thrived

The woman found James a program
That provided transportation
To an Activity Center twice a week
Where he found a girlfriend
Then promptly had to be medicated
To stop the hypersexuality
That is sometimes associated 
With  movement disorders such as his
Huntington’s Chorea

He was young and enjoyed this 
Time in his life

Then James needed hospice care

He died peacefully
Curled up on his side
Next to the woman
Who kept vigil

A van came at 1:00 a.m.
They put James in a black body bag
And he was gone

Afterword

About James: he was born in 1978, possibly in Pennsylvania or Indiana. His full name is James Hamilton Sparks.

Huntington’s Chorea is a genetic disease. If a person has it, their offspring have a 50-50 chance of getting it as well. The most famous American to be so afflicted was Woodie Guthrie. His son Arlo was spared his affliction.