Together
I was with you when it happened,
I've waited three years for it.
Although time takes on a different meaning for me
now.
It happened quietly,
Just as you'd have wanted.
If the neighbour hadn't rung 999,
We'd have been together by now.
In our wedding vows,
We promised "Till death us do part".
I hated that line.
Why should we let death separate us,
When we'd pledged ourselves so completely to one another.
You laughed at my fears,
Promised we'd go together.
The exact same moment,
So neither of us would be left behind.
I believed you then,
I still believe you now.
It's not that you don't keep your promises,
It's just that you were never very good at time keeping.
They're bringing you in now
The bang of the doors,
As they wheel you past me,
And through me.
I shiver.
I have never got used to that.
They take you to the emergency room
But there is no emergency,
I could tell them that.
And so could you.
Yet they have little chance of hearing either of us.
You wanted to go,
I saw it in your eyes.
You accepted your fate
Even as it occurred.
You've been lonely too,
For all these years.
I've watched you go on.
I was so proud of you.
You didn't fall apart,
Didn't break down when I went away,
As I'm sure I would have done.
You were strong,
You carried on.
For me,
For the children,
And the grandchildren.
We still have our responsibilities.
They have you hooked up to a machine now.
All these men and women,
Fighting to save a life,
Neither of us wants saved.
There's a big box,
That's beeping by your head.
I suppose that must be your heart rate.
It's not beating much at the moment.
There has never been anyone else for you since I've
been gone.
And I am so grateful for that.
I should want you to be happy,
To enjoy life while you can.
Even if it cannot be with me.
But I could never stand seeing
Another one in my place.
And you have spared me this,
Keep true to me,
As we were for all our years together.
The beeping box is making funny noises.
The doctors start panicking.
You have a mask over your face.
But I can tell you're not breathing.
It won't be long now.
I can feel you slipping away
And coming to join me.
I have waited so long for this day.
I remember our first date,
Although we called it courting back then.
You took me to the picture house,
Although I cannot remember what we saw.
You held my hand,
And brought me a choc-ice.
And when you took me home,
You kissed my cheek,
And I knew then that I would marry you.
The monitor beeps now.
No regular pulses,
Just a long drone.
They start frantically to work on you,
But you've already gone.
It's only a matter of time now.
I remember the day of our wedding,
July 10th 1946.
It was the happiest day of my life.
We were childhood sweet-hearts,
And knew from birth we would end up married.
I wore a plain white cotton dress.
Nothing fancy,
Rationing still held even after the war.
I kept that dress for all our marriage.
You kept it still when I'd gone,
And would take it out to feel it,
To smell it and remember me.
It's over now,
They've let you go.
A nurse turns off the beeping monitor,
And they leave you in peace at last.
And then you come to me.
You do not rise up from the table,
Arms outstretched,
As if from a Dracula film.
You simply wake up,
But to death instead of life.
You get up slowly,
But more out of confusion that old age.
We do not suffer that any more.
You seem not at all concerned,
To see your body remain behind.
You have accepted it just as I have.
You turn then,
And see me.
I have watched over you for three long years,
Heard you talking to me,
When I could not answer back.
Yet now you are here,
With me once more.
You take a step towards me,
Unsteady on your feet.
You open your mouth to speak,
But I do not give you the chance.
I rush forward,
Throw myself into your arms.
You hold me,
So tight.
I fear the breath will leave me completely
Then laugh at how silly a thought that is
You are crying.
Holding me,
And kissing my hair.
My tears match your own.
I have missed you so much.
But we are together now,
Our wedding vows are complete.
Death can not separate us,
For we are here,
Together in death as in life.
Death is not dark,
Something to be afraid of, to fear.
Now we are together,
We will make death as wonderful as our life together.
For now there is nothing but eternity
to ever come between us.