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IN VASTLY DIFFERENT WAYS

A moment of heaven came
When in an innocent move
She threw her arms about me
And I felt the familiar
Swelling of my heart - for I knew
It was a real connection.

--o--

I stood beside her final bed
And stroked her unruffled forehead
With the knuckles of my hand.
She did not open her sleeping eyes
Did not react to my act of love -
But that was not surprising.

--o--

I closed my arms around her tight
And felt her body close to mine.
After all these years still delight
In feeling her vibration
Close by, blending - even loving.
And knowing this is beyond time.

--o--

I found the strength to say words
Because I believed they can hear
When they sleep the coma slumber,
And I made them some loving sounds.
Which could allow the comsuming
Moment to be faced feeling no fear.

--o--

When I had kissed her head she left.
There were cats to feed, house to sort,
And all the tasks she had chosen
For her share of our marriage.
I? Eternally in debt to her
For giving me love in this life.

--o--

The moment of the cessation -
Though anticipated - swept in
Unheralded: Just a pausing
Of breath, of being ill, of life
And all earthy complications.
The nurse stepped in as I wept.

--o--

These are moments of my seasons
In this present embodiment.
Two women of differing roles
Who have fed me different ways,
Different foods,other reasons,
And I am grown from knowing them...

...in vastly different ways.

 

© Allen Ansell 2024