A Quarter of An Inch

A QUARTER OF AN INCH AT A TIME (A Song for Susan) by Don Wendorf, Psy.D.; LMFT She moved near me in college, to the house across from mine. I knew at once this special girl was something rare and fine. We slowly started strolling down a path of love sublime: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time Through kids, careers, through fights and fears, we formed a wedded pair, That knew each other deeply as we learned to give and share, Ever stronger, growing closer, like two trees entwine: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time Then came a bandit in the night, to rob me of my bride, To slowly steal away her brain and personhood inside, To make her serve a lengthy sentence, punishing no crime: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time I watch a shade be slowly drawn to darken out her will. I see her memory erode, from mountain down to hill. I hear my singer drift off key, my poet stray off rhyme: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time This dearest soul I’ve ever met, so caring, sweet and kind, So lovely on the outside with as lovely heart and mind, Now works to hold the fabric of her self as it unwinds: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time As man and wife we’ve walked through life, down all its winding roads, Up craggy peak, ‘cross desert bleak, we’ve borne each other’s loads. There’s just this final mountain now, together we will climb: A quarter of an inch at a time A quarter of an inch at a time