This was written during a brief period where I wrote very emotional pieces to tug at the reader.

They were engaged to be married
Beneath the summer sun.
Wreaths were made and cards were mailed
And their dreams had just begun.

But something was quite awry
Her smile was not all there.
He sensed her fear of days untold,
Yet there was something he wasn’t aware.

She hid it well, we had confessed
After the truth be known.
I’ll never forget that pain-filled day
When she said she knew this alone.

She saw the doctors regularly
Her calendar was inked to death.
Pills she had to take and the test ran
Had weakened her very breath.

She was afraid to tell him
The secret in her heart.
For if he knew, he’d surely leave
And all their love depart.

She came to me one humid night
And asked what she’d have to do
To keep him there and loving her
Without giving away her clue.

But, she knew that time would reveal
What she was scared to say.
“I’m afraid I will never see
our wedding day.”

That same night, the phone rang
Next to her lover’s bed.
Her voice was trailing and fading fast
And here is what she said:

“I have a secret I’ve kept from you.
It affects both of our lives.
I have cancer and it’s spreading fast
And I may not live to be your wife.

I didn’t know if I should tell you
The doctors said it was in remission
But it’s come back twice as hard
And I had to make this confession.”

He was shocked to hear her voice
He could feel the tears through the phone.
“I love you” was what he said,
But, he knew she was already gone.

She was buried on their wedding day.
Tears of joy turned to tears of pain.
The cancer had won within
Yet, his love remained the same.

He took his vows, though she could not hear.
He thought it better that way.
Though she’s gone, he’s still loving her
And married to her to this day.

©July 10, 2001 Lori S. Maynard