Blest be the woman in white
I lie and wait for her
Who holds my hand to feel my heart beat
And takes my temperature
In the hum of the I.C.U.
Amid the machines she stands
Amid all the technology I feel
The laying on of hands
She asks me how I feel
I tell her, "Much better today."
Now that the tube is out of my throat
And the catheter's gone away.
She comes from a town near here
Her children Nate and Nicole
Are 14 and 16 and do well in school
And her husband's on the highway patrol.
I came here for heart surgery
To repair my right atrium
And now we're discussing the weather forecast
They say there is more snow to come.
My life has been handed to me
And what is so dear to my heart
Is the plain ordinary sound of her voice
And the oatmeal on the food cart.
The mystery of life is here
Of life and death and man
And also the sweet simplicity
Of an angel named Joanne.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.