Holding Your Hand

I did not know you, yet I did. You needed another with you for this, It so happened that I was there. I was honored to hold your hand; This simple act was humbling. As You looked to step into the mystery. The last person to be with you As you, tired, took your leave Quietly, gracefully toward unknowns. An unadorned gesture, holding your hand, A simple shared grace, Many quiet kindnesses go unseen. To aid a life as it enters our world, To witness a life as it departs, These moments are profound. The one we have all been through. The other waiting for each of us With our own expiration date. Not only the gesture one makes, But the meaning behind it When a hand is offered to one who needs it. We share that we are not solitary. That you are, that I am, not alone; And we never have been.