Like a rose withering away at the stem
But your petals still of light life abound
Through the haunting inevitable 
That eats away you look up as if nothing
 

Yet you have been hiding and your mind rock ice
Fighting to maintain some dignity
Protecting your secret impervious to the pain
Oh and the pain
The oxygen tank and the pills and the chemo and radio

As I come into your bedroom you eye me and
Slowly adjusting your hair with those hands
That had cuddled me as a child
Now wintered twigs that I know will not see the spring bloom
I look at you and for an instant
You are there
And I feel something burning rising slowly
To my throat and through my watering eyes
As my lungs explode
Ah my God how I held back my tears
As I smiled at you and swallowed
While underneath me my knees went weak
And my feet wobbled

But the tears were being shed
Around you as they scattered and rushed
Into any room any corner on any wall
Where you could not see them
Sobbing their hearts out
To the floor they knelt wailing
In utter silence torn in their insides
Frantically mumbling your name
 

As you walked out
Silent smiling
And took your seat majestic
They gathered around you
And you gazed and hinted at a smile
Watching us from across
Children sat like good students attentive to your every move
But you were already somewhere else