Freddy Frankel: My Father and His Legacy
My father Freddy Frankel has been an inspiration to me for many years. This year, he turned 91 years old, was named Poet Laureate of Lasell Village, and published his latest poetry collection, Soliloquy at Ninety. One of the poems in his collection is dedicated to his wife of 68 years, Betty Frankel. This poem, “Let Its Waves Wash Over You,” is the last poem in the collection, and I wanted to share it as it’s one of my favorites.
Let Its Waves Wash Over You
While eating in the dining hall, dusk crept
behind my eyes, like a bird almost blind in its cage.
I felt the blood drain from my brain; I bent at the waist
and lowered my head, caught in the wrench of my mind.
The nurse then measured the thrust of my pulse.
As if I’d been stationed there waiting to wheel
through the dinner and time, the ambulance crew
climbed aboard. I don’t remember it all, thinking of you.
I well may not be here someday to stanch
your tears, to gently place my hand upon
your shoulder. Run smoothly, my love,
with your grief–let its waves wash over you.
Soliloquy at Ninety was published by iUniverse and is the recent winner of iUniverse Editor’s Choice. Robert Brustein, author and founding director of the Yale Repertory and American Repertory Theatres described my father as “that rare thing, a poet of extraordinary technical skill and unerring vision.” I am extremely proud to call this truly “rare,” inspiring, and influential man my father.