The Stroke

The garbled words I could not understand,

Her inner life surrendered to this bed,

She could not move her legs, or either hand,

To be this helpless with the worst ahead.

I took the train, not knowing what I’d find,

The stroke, licked her, and she was paralyzed.

Her body failed, although the brain behind,

Was sharp as ever, sharp but agonized.

She knew me when I visited her there,

And couldn’t stop the tears she tried to hide,

The smell of disinfectant in the air,

Her eyes fixed on the bible by her side.

I lifted it and read a psalm out loud,

It meant the world to her, and then a plea

Rose in my heart.  I prayed with my head bowed,

Not knowing what to pray for.  God sent me,

If only to sit with her until death.

A certain verse lightened some of her pain,

She drifted sometimes, as I watched her breath,

Which left me, but in my heart will remain.