You Still Know Me
By Alan Balter
once they would have called you “feeble minded”
or “senile,” but now they say you’re “demented”
not that it matters to me my friend,
because I call you Michael
the nurses say you don’t know me, but when
I hold your quaking hand in mine
and a crooked smile plays around your lips
I know they’re mistaken
not long ago we played our games
between sugar maple trees and a red brick building
where they warehoused sheets of metal for some war
instead of once brilliant men
and the day after, we went to college
where we learned the law yet still found time
to write poetry for pretty coeds with blond hair
and full lips who loved us in your rusty Studebaker
then somehow, it became today
and I’ve come to visit you, as I will tomorrow,
and your eyes will brighten because you still know me
my good and dear friend Michael
Alan Balter matriculated at the University of Illinois in 1956 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (1960) and a Master’s Degree in Special Education (1962). He taught adolescents with developmental delays at the Niles Township High School West before returning to the University of Illinois and completing a Ph.D. in Special Education in 1968.He worked as the Director of Secondary Special Education Services (Niles Township High Schools) before joining the faculty in the Special Education Department at Chicago State University. There, over a tenure of 32 years, he prepared teachers for children and adolescents with special needs.Dr. Balter has published two nonfiction books: Divided Apple: A Story about Teaching in Chicago and Learning Disabilities: A Book for Parents, both with Kendall-Hunt publishers. He has also published two novels: Holden and Me (Rockway Press) for which he received their international fiction award in 2006 and Different Ways of Being (Linkville Press, 2015). Dr. Balter and his wife Barbara live in Northbrook, Illinois. They enjoy extensive travel and 14 grandchildren.
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