What do you say
When you know someone is dying?
When you know they know the end is near
Or coming soon
And there’s no way to avoid it?
When the conversation lingers
Like a kid not wanting to go to school,
Taking too much time with breakfast,
A hush to come and fill the room.
The subject circumvented,
Pretending a temporary tummy ache,
The excuse, a feigned discomfort.
As if eternity could be held at bay,
And a distant schoolhouse bell
Could justify the silence.

What can you say?
Do tearful partings serve a purpose?
Regrets clinging to bare branches,
Unfinished business and memories
Uprooted in a hurricane of
Missed appointments and lost opportunities.
The impossible future tense
Senselessly shaken,
Rotting fruit scattered on the ground,
Illusions no longer suspended.

In all sincerity,
You may want to share your strength!
The power of a lover’s kiss,
The power of a prayer,
The power of a promise,
That wasn’t yours to keep…

No one wants to think about
The day of their departure,
The time of their deliverance.
When calendar and clock conspire
To remind them of the vacancy,
The vacuum, the void impending.
As if desertion were premeditated,
Guilt irrefutable.

Even those who would hold tight
To some unshakable belief,
The promise of an afterlife,
A second chance,
A golden city…
What then of grief?

Perhaps it is better to say little more,
Feelings shoved down in a back pocket,
Emotions neatly tucked away.
The suspension of reality,
The pleasure and the pain
Concealed for this one uneasy moment.
So what did I say?

“You take care.
I’ll see you tomorrow.”



Michael S. True
8-27-13