The Wasting Away

Oh my dearest love,
life melting off your thin bones,
choked out by disease.

I clutch memories,
which slip away so easy,
my humanity.

The day at the zoo,
when the giraffe licked your face,
and the monkeys laughed,

or the carrousel,
on the backward elephant,
kissing away tears.

Your birthday party,
we ate your favorite cake,
but the dog stole most.

The swing-set is still,
stirred only by the north wind,
which brings omen chill.

Butterfly landed
on your nose with wings flapping
but it made you sneeze.

Riding on the train,
when your nose began to bleed,
I was in denial.

I saw you running
through Grandpa’s fresh spring clover,
but those times are gone.

The doctors pump drugs,
which are more poison than balm,
yet you waste away.

I remember then
my spoken promise to you.
Thus, I do not cry.