Disheveled and tired, fearful and tormented
the day so long and unbearably empty sitting all alone
on a straight back chair of torture. He waits for her
surrounded by beeps and whirs and a dark, barren smell.
Her eyes closed; lashes curve against pale white cheek;
so achingly beautiful in her sleep of forever and after.
Mind silent, though the heart yet beats, steady and sure
beneath fragile bone and skin and papery gown of blue.
What to do when all is lost? The tears fall down his cheek.
He pledged eternity, yet received only two very short and blissful years.
And now, together, they wait out the end in a room of certain death
She, lost in a mindless void, and he drowning in anguished misery.
Author notes
This poem I wrote after seeing a man I knew at the hospital. He looked absolutely crushed. And, I was pained to discover, it was because his wonderful wife was terminally ill.
A contest entry
- A Rounds Contest... Open To All. by Heavens Child.
500 points, ended September 5, 2007, 24 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
-
This is so heart wrenching. It reminds me of my aunt. She married a man and he passed away a year later of cancer. It takes a good writer to be able to pen the painful experiences of others as if they had experienced the emotions themselves. Wonderful write. Thank you for the entry.
Adding your comment:
