Poetry Blossoms Under a Helping Hand

Shelley Greenspan, 68, has some wonderful memories. She was married for 39 years to someone who she says was the most wonderful man in the world. But after he died, she suffered through 46 hospitalizations and became dependent on Medicare and Social Security for survival.

After moving into the Beverly Hills Retirement Hotel, she found herself alone and struggling to maintain her dignity.

“I live with people who have empty faces, experience no gratification, have no diversions and lose consciousness of time. Sometimes I feel like an investigative reporter in residence.”

But her life has changed for the better, thanks to the regular visits of Jackie Hirtz, a volunteer from Jewish Elder Care, a Los Angeles group dedicated to the care of the elderly.

In addition, Greenspan writes poetry to keep herself aesthetically alive.

“I travel on the wings of my own imagination,” she said.

Every stage of life has a special beauty,

For every sense that is diminished,

Another is strengthened to compensate,

Reaching for untapped sources.

*

Greenspan was a Polish-speaking 6-year-old when she arrived in New York with her parents. She was immediately put into school. “The teacher smacked me in the face on the first day of school because I didn’t answer a question. I wasn’t being rude; I couldn’t speak English. That experience so shocked me that for the rest of my life, whenever I met someone who needed to speak English, I would volunteer to teach them,” she said.

Eventually, Greenspan became proficient in five languages, but she has taught scores of people how to speak English. Even today, living in hardship, she tutors her nurse’s aide in English grammar and elocution so the woman can overcome her shyness.

“I’m teaching her how to talk to her employers and how to stand up for herself. I still need to be wanted and needed. But now I must also be a recipient,” Greenspan said.

My mental voyages are not ordinary

My travels are globular,

I visit many lands,

My schedule is flexible.

I travel freely far and wide.

On the wings of my imagination.

*

Enter Jackie Hirtz. Hirtz, a free-lance writer, had a close relationship with her bohemian grandmother in San Francisco. She remembered how a married couple looked after her grandmother and took her on outings. “This is my way of returning the favor of those wonderful people,” she said.

“The first day I met Jackie, she gave me a sense of belonging,” Greenspan says. Hirtz, 44, says she’s lucky to have Greenspan in her life. “I was amazed at how bright, articulate and appreciative she was. We liked each other immediately. It makes me frustrated that I can’t do more for her. Imagine yourself all alone with no stimulation, unable to get around, and someone comes to visit. Think of what that means. Think of what you add to someone’s life and what is brought to yours.”

I gather kind words like flowers.

To form a fragrant bouquet,

I cherish the spoken kind words.

Soothed by the message they convey.

--Shelley Greenspan

For more information on Jewish Elder Care, call (310) 271-3306.