End and Beginning
October sun streamed across your face
As you took your last breath.
Trapped in a hospital bed, surrounded by rails, unable to walk—
You were free at last.
And I was left behind.
When I shuffled toward the exit, the nurses barely glanced at me.
The room where you fought your battle needed cleaning,
The ground prepared for another
Fight for life.
Patients are interchangeable.
I trudged into the sunlight,
Into the dark,
Along the rocky path of widowhood,
Ringed by ghosts,
Pierced by memories.
Five years now I’ve walked alone
Maneuvered twists and turns.
Learned to stand upright.
Sturdier now, muscles forged in fire
And in ice.
