The memories swim up unbidden;
who knows what triggers them?

Today I recalled the day we
left the ambulatory center
walking arm in arm,
the day before the surgery
that would eventually kill her.

Smiling, she looked up at me,
and said, I'm doing this for you,
because you want me to live longer.

And so I learned how, even when
you've loved and sweated and prayed
and done absolutely all you can,
the worst can still happen,

and why we are prevented
from knowing beforehand
the details of our futures.