In your bedroom

I held your hand today and you cried.

You cried for your children.  Leaving them behind.

You held my hand today and I cried.

Cried that she must not leave me behind.

We held hands and we talked.  We talked of life

The harshness as well as the beauty of life,

The cruelty as well as the kindness of life

The paths that change, the fights we lose,

The victories.  What stays the same.

We were quite still as we held hands

Allowing tears, allowing silence as we gazed

Into each other’s eyes, to find the answers there.

And the answers? In your eyes you offered me strength.

In your eyes you told me I am learning what love is.

In your eyes you told me to keep loving and believing.

You told me that this is life.

And I hope you saw, in mine, the love for you.

I hope you saw that you are always here,

In my heart, my soul and mind, 

That you have taught, you have changed and you have grown me, 

That you have challenged, you have yielded, You have loved and you have scolded me

That you have given me food for thought,

The nourishment I have craved, 

The embodiment of love and acceptance,

And the woman who is always there. 

Your mark is indelible.  A permanent presence. 

Have no doubt. You leave no-one behind.  

You are with us all. Always.  

And I will have no doubt. I will believe. 

And the answer we both always knew?

This is life.  This is truth.  This is the way it is.

Strength, acceptance and love are the only things we can keep. 

You have my love, you give me strength and we are both learning acceptance.  

These words are for you to keep, wherever you are.

We looked into each other’s eyes, we held hands and we learned.

We learned new lessons as we saw the dark clouds in each other’s eyes.

We learned that these moments, this chaos, this sadness, this lack of control

This is life, and always was. 

With love