Stick the Landing

As I walked into the florescent-lit hospital room / I imagined a gymnastics announcer commentating the scene. / Next up we have Gertrude Jaffe / performing the notoriously difficult deathbed routine. / Hi, Grandma, I said. / Who’s that? she asked weakly / Confused squinting, followed by a double come-closer wave. A classic maneuver! / It’s Aaron, I told her. / I leaned over her bed / and could see how frail and shrunken she’d become. / Oh Aaron, it’s good to see you / What are you doing for work these days? / A small talk transition— she’s gearing up for something big. / I’m a college coach, I said. / That’s nice, she sighed, and let her head roll to the side of her pillow, / wishing I’d replied with doctor or lawyer. / A deathbed twist into a flawless guilt trip! We’re seeing an artist at work! / Grandma, I began, as tears started to form / I know the things I do don’t always make sense to you. / If I’m being honest / they usually don’t make sense to me. / But just know / one day I will to do something to make you proud. / Here comes this dismount! / For a moment the cloudiness left her eyes / she forced herself upright / looked straight at me/ into me / and said / I have always been proud of you. / SHE STICKS THE LANDING! / Ladies and gentleman, a flawless routine! / Thank you, I said, the tears starting to roll. /Wait…we’re being told this is not her death bed. / She’ll die in a hospice in Chicago / I love you Grandma / This will not sit well the notorious strictly German judges/ I love you too, she said / The scores are in! 10, 10, 10, 10 / then she collapsed back into her bed / and a 9.9 from the Germans. / exhausted from the strain of showing up for me one last time. / Wait, the German’s just learned she’s a JEWISH grandma. They’re changing their score! / I’ll see you soon, I sobbed / knowing I probably would never see her again. / Across the board, it’s perfect 10’s!