From Without by Donald Hall, Porcelain Couple:
He hovered beside Jane’s bed,
Solicitous: “What can I do?”
It must have been unbearable
While she suffered her private hurts
to see his worried face
looming above her, always anxious to do
something when there was
exactly nothing to do. Inside him,
some four-year-old
understood that if he was good – thoughtful,
considerate, beyond
reproach, perfect – she would not leave him.
Though about a husband and wife, the sense of futility is understandable. And the image of the young boy standing there in the hopes of being able to provide some assistance or comfort is particularly apt in my situation.
