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.