‘Come lie with me,’ she croaked, 

And her cough wracked her 

Skin and bones 

As a crow shakes the 

Flesh from a roadkill. 

Bolstered up on her pillows

Her face cracked into an

Almost smile and I

Reached my hand to hers

And lay me down beside

In anticipation of

Her last breath. 

I held a handkerchief 

To her mouth 

To catch the sputum,

Muttering platitudes

That we both knew were 

Untrue. 

And as her once shining eyes 

Grew dull and her breath 

Stuttered and crackled

So my tears began to rise

Warm, salt springs

Welling up from

A deep underground cavern. 

We lay for an hour 

Her hand in mine 

Until coughing 

Became wheezing

As breath was no more. 

And as her spasms weakened 

So mine increased; in

Overwhelming sorrow at a loss

No one can measure. 

Her Sweetness; my love

Obliterated 

For ever. 

Poem and image copyright Englepip ©