You don’t know.
The last laugh,
The final touch.
You never know the last is here.
The shared sarcasm,
The long talk deep in the night.
The bickering, the encouraging.
You have no ‘it’s about to end’ warning.
The last sock you wash,
Meal you make,
Letter you write
Text you send.
You blink, and it was the final one.
Tugging the blanket at night,
Sharing each others heat.
Listening to their breathing
In the quiet of life.
Without warning,
That breath is gone.
And you are left listening
To their voice on a recording,
or scrolling through endless pictures on social media.
“Why didn’t we print these?”
You want to tell them about your day, but they are gone.
You wish for a hug, a hand, a smile, even a frown.
But they are gone.
Life goes on,
But you’re stuck in time.
Treading water with all you’ve got.
You move, but are unmoving.
The pieces you take with you
aren’t enough.
There is anger, sadness, pain.
This is being lost
Because when we say
‘Our other half’
We mean it.
And now we are left
behind, incomplete.
We long to dream,
Because they meet us there.
Once again, it feels normal and peaceful.
We cling to the fantasy,
tell no one,
and love the sleeping hours.
Our hearts weep
for the lost.
Our minds refuse to accept
it was the last.
We shake our heads
in disbelief.
You never know.
It happens while you blink
The unbearable truth
you get to face alone.
They… are..gone.
~For my son.
