Death of a Loved One

When you died, I was away, Being happy, for the first time Since we heard the news: You could fight But it would be for naught Adding on extra days or extra weeks Maybe a year if you were lucky. Your goal was to make it to my Bat Mitzvah Which you had prepared me for, You didn’t make it. Not even close. When the family looks back upon your death, We say thank god, Thank god you died before the world became chaos Because it would have been too hard. Thank god we lost you to cancer and not Covid As if it makes a difference. But it’s easier, And easier is what we have to deal with now. We remember the good times, But try not to forget the bad, We reminisce, but not to often, Because it hurts too much. Your wife has a new partner now, But you were the great love of her life, Her soulmate. Your daughter prays for you every night, And we thank god for your wife's new love Because he makes things easier. I have to squint to remember your face Memories of you are fuzzy, Like looking through tinted glass, At a person I can only remember In relation to their death.