The Nurse To the Patient (To Jackie R.I.P)
I only had a glmpse of you -
a glimpse, the night before you died:
A once beautiful lady, still beautiful,
preparing to die - such grace, such poise.
There was an aura about you -
an aura of peace and serenity.
No fear. No expression of anxiety.
just a deep committed faith, a knowledge.
We shared a secret you and I.
We shared a hug; a tranquil moment.
Not knowing, yet knowing so much,
saying little except by look or touch.
No last rites - no time.
No consecrated bread or wine.
No oil to annoint or prayers
to guide you home - just me.......
Just me, sitting with you on your bed.
Just a stranger's hand to hold,
yet nothing strange -
A deep unspoken understanding,
A unity of spirits. A conjoining of souls.
You touched my heart with your grace.
Your eyes penetrated my intrinsic epicentre
and imprinted in my mind, your face.
When I heard you'd gone I wept inside -
I didn't know you, why?
Death is no stranger to me
I meet it every day -
Yet sometimes, a departing soul pauses for a while,
and there's a glimpse, a clue,
like you when you were still here - or there
when you were in death's waiting room.
Strangely, I was too.
Copyright © Helen J Radford | Year Posted 2008
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