geographical precision

where was i born?

life has worked things out for me
so that this summer i am in indianapolis
the city where i was born

based on my recent reading
of annie dillard FOR THE TIME BEING
i am suddenly curious as to
where i made my first appearance on the planet

so yeserday i found the building
which was the hospital
st. vincent's where i first poked my head out
it is being prepared for demolition
to simply look at the building from the outside
it is a remarkable structure
the brick work is obviously of an era
when craftsmen took pains to get things right
and the design is simply attractive
in a way that few buildings are today

part of my search gave me a renewed appreciation
for the effort and refinement of ability
for nurses and doctors and administrators
all the work that has gone on in this country
to assure people of health security

even while today we face that starck reality
that for the most part
things have gone out of whack
it is as if we have created a social climate
of entrapped dependence

my search for the building took me far and wide
i sort of had to "hone" in
i finally drove up to the place
and walked up the front steps
indigent activity was evident there
lighters needles small bottles of liquor
a different kind of medicine being practiced
but i managed to find a nice piece
of stone chipped from one of the capitals
at what had been the main entrance

today i will seek out the house
where i worked out the
those primary primitive mental
and physical principles of activity
where i first "saw" things

it does one well to visit beginnings