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.
Oh, Mary! I agree with Alice and Raynette - proverbs are gold-plated clichés for moments just like this! Thinking of you. Michael
You never cease to amaze how you can put moments of life into poetry. I know for a fact Suzanne Sommers books on eating can make you healthier and trimmer. Worth looking into. Rusty
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
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
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
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
Gentle excercise of the heart is good in any form.I pray that he stays well.Love Duncan
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.
for some reason after reading this, i thought, a little to real...............but true.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/5/2025 2:48:01 PM # 1.0.0
Hey Mary, I was there for that minute with you! Brilliantly descriptive. I agree with everyone else too, chest pain should never be ignored - I looked after three people just this week who's prognosis are bad simply because they ignored the pain when it first started. Moyaxxx