Michael Linsk is a poet and HOPE Connection group alum.
My wife, lover, friend, soul mate
is no longer a warm, living, breathing part of my life.
Death intervened.
Stealing away the dream of growing older together;
sharing a future that was to have been filled with all the stuff of living.
We had plans for our life together.
Some explicit, some merely unstated dreams;
sharing quiet times and celebrations,
alone together or in the company of family and friends.
Meeting new challenges and enjoying the rewards of our love;
basking in benefits bestowed through deeds and opportunities.
Now, she rests in the perpetual peace of an eternal Sabbath
while my love for her lives on in my head and my heart.
I must now replace the plans and dreams we shared
as I make my own way in a new and uncertain world.
The simple truth that she was denied the privilege of a longer life
places an obligation on me to live life for both of us.
Beginning anew,
with a new palette,
finding the right colors to apply to a new blank canvas.
Some colors will be familiar, reminders of her warmth and our love.
Other hues will be new, reflecting new beginnings, new friends and new experiences.
Whatever life emerges for me
I am comforted with the certain knowledge of her desire for my happiness.
Thus, the goal of achieving satisfaction in my new life’s experiences is not mine alone,
It is the realization of the wish that was in her heart for me.
Creating a new and hopeful future for me
is part of my debt to her.
I know now what I have to do…
But I still don’t know how.
© Copyright 2015, M.Linsk, with love