My father died in October, 1998. He had been in good health, until a routine physical turned up a problem with his heart. He had heart surgery, and due to complications after the surgery, a stroke. A few months after that he was getting worse and my mother and I brought him home from the hospital so he could spend his last days at his home. I wrote this poem while sitting at his bedside all night the day before he died.
(c) 1998 back to story menuMy Father Dies
All night I wait,
he cries and moans.
I feel his pain,
as if my own.
His death draws near,
with breath so shallow.
This place I've been,
so steeped in sorrow.
Another life,
so dear to me.
Leaves this world,
how can this be?
When life is gone,
and tears are wept,
I'll carry on,
with no regret.
To live our lives,
that is the goal.
To love someone,
and share our soul.