On this day a year ago, my true love went away.

The end of five long years of care, she could no longer stay.

I thought my life was over then, I was consumed by guilt

But friendly folk were there to help, and my new life was built.

We had been alone so long, I knew not where to turn.

The hands of others offered up, I had so much to learn.

Slowly, surely, I was saved from canyons of despair,

Lifted from the depths of hell, shown the clean fresh air

Of hope, a shining beacon, guiding me along

To find a new existence, one that’s filled with song.

My love, she lives; I see her still but gone is who she was;

My love is taken, slowly, surely, I know this because

A shell is left, my love is there, but locked inside that form,

Though she is safe and fed and cared for, clothed and kept quite warm.

All I can do is sit and watch as she slips far away;

Sometimes a glimpse of who she was, her spirit comes to play.

A window in her soul will open, just a little, just a crack

Enough to glimpse the one that was, then illness pulls her back,

And all the love I have for her pours out in that one time,

And then I leave, a broken man, once more to face the climb

Out of despair; an unlit road, one that’s dark and lonely.

The maelstrom of emotion fills my mind with sorrow, only

Now I’ve found I have new power, one that has been given,

A gift of words to heal a soul, one that has been riven

By pain. So I must write and write, the words flow unabated.

I cannot stop, I will not stop, and joy is now created

Where once was hurt, and in this way I can give some pleasure

To the world, give something back, something one could treasure

For days to come, a memory, a thing that brings a smile

To keep the worst of life at bay, if only for a while.

And now I finish off my verse with hope and no more sorrow,

And thoughts that may stay with you all, and bring you joy tomorrow.

 

Raymond Miles