I am not just a number to be added
to the count of the day
I didn’t just succumb, I was cruelly
taken away
I leave behind a family, bereft
I wonder, what will they do with
this grief
Will it wash away as they weep
Will they ever find relief from
this pain
I am gone, will they ever be
normal again
I wish, I could have felt that the time
had come
Not leaving words unsaid, actions undone
It didn’t creep up on me slowly, didn’t give
me time to prepare
One day it was news, next day it was here
I could see the fear in my mother’s eyes
I could feel the pain in my father’s sighs
My wife’s broken heart, I knew still carried hope
Perhaps that was the only way she could cope
I sensed the panic in the tremble of my brother’s hand
As he gathered strength to help me stand
With me in the back seat my brother rushed around
If only there was a hospital bed to be found
The fever raged on; my chest closed up on me
In the clutches of helplessness, I could not break free
My lungs put up a valiant fight
But there was no hope in sight
As my breath ebbed away, I did despair
Life cut short like this just doesn’t seem fair