The Longest Minute Of My Life Poem by Mary Nagy

The Longest Minute Of My Life



He was going around the house
doing his normal routine
until he stood there
so still
grabbing his chest.
What’s wrong? ! ?

He tries to say “”It’s nothing””
but, the pain takes his voice
along with his breath.
It only lasted about one minute
but in that one short minute
I took an inventory of our life
I saw what was really important
And what wasn’t.

I saw our children
not one of them out of high school yet.
I saw our house
those little repairs that never seem to get done.
I saw our marriage
the one that nobody said would last.
I saw him
having the worst pain I’ve ever seen him have.

He made his way to the bedroom
And sat at the edge of the bed
Still holding his chest
If this is nothing
Where did the tears come from?
He is a big ol’ manly-man!
He never cries.
This was more than “”nothing””.

After the longest minute of my life
he stands up and says “”It’s gone””
but, for me, it’s not gone.
I refuse to be a widow at 35.
We have been through too much
to let unhealthy eating end
the life we’ve created together.

I just called him at work
to let him know I renewed
our membership to the YMCA.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
David Darbyshire 13 February 2006

A little sad mary........not good........take care of him....put your foot down! Love dave xxxx

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Zahraa Song 13 February 2006

I too felt the eternity of that minute...I feared for the ending of your poem. Quite scary i'm sure but effectively expressed in your poem....Zainab

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Bridgid Patrick 13 February 2006

A very sad and heartfelt poem.. sincerely bridgid x

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Alice Vedral Rivera 13 February 2006

Mary - I held my breath there for a minute. Don't let your husband ignore this. The husband of a friend of mine had similar chest pain a few years ago. He was in his 30s and did not want to go to the hospital (he said he didn't want to waste their time) but his friend (who just happened to stop by) made him go. He ended up having to have bypass surgery and the doctors said that he would have had a massive heart attack in a few days and no one would have been able to save him. He made all of us promise him that we would not let anyone ignore similar symptoms. He says that it is better to be safe than sorry (a cliche if I ever heard one) . avr

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Raynette Eitel 13 February 2006

Thanks for putting this frightening moment into a poem, Mary. And Alice's advice is really good. I know how frightening those moments can be, especially when you have young children. Raynette

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Brian Dorn 26 March 2006

Good idea... you can wear that pink sweat suit that he bought you for your birthday! An excellent poem on how fragile life can be, even for someone so strong. Brian

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Herbert Nehrlich1 25 February 2006

A real Mary poem, full of feeling and the goodness it comes from. I am still waiting for the sequel and detailed info. Best H

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Duncan Wyllie 20 February 2006

Gentle excercise of the heart is good in any form.I pray that he stays well.Love Duncan

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Uriah Hamilton 14 February 2006

He should see a doctor as well, he's lucky to have such a concerned wife, all such men are, I think wife is the first doctor.

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David Gerardino 13 February 2006

for some reason after reading this, i thought, a little to real...............but true.

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