“It’s a wild world.” My precious wife Anne who is dying of brain cancer has lost almost her entire capacity to speak, but every so often verbal gems emerge unbidden, like buried treasure from the depths of an unfathomable sea. Recently, as we explored the palliative care ward in her wheelchair, out came the chorus of a famous Cat Stevens song.* Why? Why?
Wild World
The hallway hums with disinfectants and wheels,
a river of doors we float between.
Anne’s hands rest, light as commas,
on the arms of her wheelchair.
Words have thinned to breath,
to glances that carry whole afternoons.
Then, suddenly, a spark –
a chorus breaks cover, bright and exact.
‘Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
I’ll always remember you like a child, girl.’
The denizens of the ward pause, listening.
Even the linoleum seems to lean in.
This wild world keeps turning, careless, tender.
I pocket the refrain like a priceless gem warmed by skin.
Later, when silence returns, the words shimmer still and somehow ring true.
P.S. All the nursing staff members who heard Anne’s faint recital of the refrain hummed or crooned the song for the rest of the day.
If you feel like keeping track of Anne’s cancer journey, I’m chronicling it in prose and poetry here:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/news/
*”Wild World”
Song by Cat Stevens 1971
Now that I’ve lost everything to you
You say you wanna start something new
And it’s breakin’ my heart you’re leavin’
Baby, I’m grievin’
But if you wanna leave, take good care
I hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
I’ll always remember you like a child, girl
You know I’ve seen a lot of what the world can do
And it’s breakin’ my heart in two
Because I never wanna see you sad girl
Don’t be a bad girl
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware, beware
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
I’ll always remember you like a child, girl
Baby, I love you
But if you wanna leave, take good care
Hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
But just remember there’s a lot of bad and beware, beware
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
I’ll always remember you like a child, girl
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
It’s hard to get by just upon a smile
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world
And I’ll always remember you like a child, girl
Yusuf / Cat Stevens – Viña Del Mar Festival, Chile 2015 (Full Concert)
