Kissing His Forehead Softly Poem by Louise Tredoux

Rudi tossing and turning in his sleep,
feverish with malaria, I must keep his
temperature down, wiping his brow
all the time, he moans in his sleep

I visualize him tall and strong as he
usually is, in my mind’s eye I see him
laughing in health, I give him quinine
and count the hours till morning

He has nightmares as his body over-
heats, I sponge him down and sing to
him – a miracle, as I sing him lullabies
he grows calm and the fever goes down

Falling asleep myself, dreaming of Rudi
swimming and diving and chasing fish
as he always does, as I wake up I hold
his hand, fearing heat will disturb him

Kissing his forehead softly, waiting for
his eyes to open; when they do, I stare
into those blue orbs with joy, he looks
like my strong Rudi again…