I know that what we love,
we will eventually lose.
I just couldn’t believe our time together
would be so short.
I wasn’t prepared.
I didn’t know there would be any type of bad news
that could weaken me enough
to drop me to my knees,
to cause me to curl up like an infant,
that could cause me just so much pain,
like a vise tightening steadily on a wounded heart.
That was a long time ago, my love.
I am no longer a young man.
My hair is grey and thinned,
and my skin is wrinkled.
But I still hear your voice in my dreams,
your laughter,
see you smile and reach for my face
with your gentle hand,
see you look at me in that loving way,
like you always did before.
When I awaken from those dreams,
alone in the dark,
I don’t feel sad.
I smile with the lightness of your being
in my heart.
I love having those dreams of you.
But eventually,
and probably very soon now,
I will lose them too.
For that, I will have to prepare.