The Smallest Angel

The Smallest Angel

“I need a volunteer!” he said from his throne
“To show them the way, to bring them home”
Many hands raised quickly, he slowly looked around
Determined faces met his gaze, but his champion was not found

“My volunteer must be brave, willing to sacrifice
It will be a short trip, not a very long life”
A few hands dropped as some of them faltered
But many were still up, their resolve had not altered

“My volunteer must know they will have to teach,
For several are lost, but not beyond reach”
More hands fell, and muttering was heard,
“He’s asking too much, it’s really absurd”

“You will go where you’re sent with eyes open wide
You’ll have a lot to do, and nothing to hide”
Now only one hand remained raised, the smallest of all
“So tell me my child, why have you answered this call?”

“Someone needs a lot of help, so I surmise,
Who better to give it than one my size?
Tell me what I must do, where I will go
When I get back, it’ll be alright as you know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s a boy! Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Lyght
He looks very healthy with eyes so bright.”
That was true at first, as he grew so fast,
They were amazed at him, how the time flew past

Then one day while playing, he fell suddenly ill,
His mother looked at his face, his body felt chill
For his eyes so bright had grown dismally dim
All she could think of, was taking proper care of him

But he never acted sick, just seemed withdrawn
Didn’t seem healthy, yet his life still went on
The trip to the doctor provided no answers at all,
But he knew what to do and who to call

He called a friend, an excellent pediatrician
A specialist in rare diseases, children were his life mission
He carefully examined Joshua looking for a hint, a clue
Of just what was causing him to seem so blue

After careful analysis of a myriad of tests
The specialist discovered the cause, working with little rest
He called the parents to give them the news
That Joshua had much more, than just mere blues

“It’s Hippel-Landau Disease, a central nervous system disorder
Curing this will not be easy, it will be a tall order
I recommend the Children’s Hospital in Chicago
Their staff is top notch, that’s where he should go

At the hospital there were many children like Joshua
Some had incurable cancer from a rare melanoma
He became friends with a few, saw some of them die
But others left cured; he never asked why

Joshua's ‘mission’ after all was to help those in need somehow
He didn’t know this of course, but sensed it anyhow
Those he found who were a part of his ‘mission’
He’d cure with a small touch, as if he were a magician

One day he met Cameron, needy like the others,
A boy he became so close to, you’d swear they were brothers
They shared everything in play, he taught him a few tricks
That amused and brought smiles, to those really sick

Cameron became a small star, his shows were the best
He did it all in fun of course, always in jest
The children loved his show, they clapped with joy
They’d forgotten their illness, because of that boy

But for Joshua himself there was no remission,
For helping Cameron get well, had been his sole mission
His health slowly declined, one day he no longer could go on,
With his mission complete, he went where he belonged

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ahhh, my smallest angel, I see you completed your task
And did much more than that, without being asked.
Welcome home my friend, you’re where you belong,
Cameron will miss you, but you’ll see him again, before too long”

Jim Dorrell
12/19/09

If you're curious as to who The Jester is, may I recommend you read "The Jester" 

The rest of the poems that are about his life, love, and eventual death can be found in "The Jester Poems"