This poem would not let me go to bed last night until it got written. Guess who I was thinking about???

ALL I HAVE LEFT

It never was meant to be like this:
I was going to be the one to go first,
And leave you with two cats,
A nondescript pile of memories,
And the accumulated clutter
Of this packrat’s life.
Or perhaps we’d go together,
Full of years, falling asleep
One night to never wake up again.
That was the plan, or fantasy,
Given what little I knew
About my chances
To live a long, happy life.

But you would have none of it,
Or maybe not you,
But that damned disease;
It took you away
Before I even had a chance
To say a proper goodbye.
I was left with the two cats,
And the life clutter
Of the packrat this packrat married.
And the memories….
Empty rooms and empty hours
Full of memories.
It’s pretty much all I have left
And so they will have to do
To sustain me.

-June 18, 2013
Chip Bergeron