Grief hangs here now
With the unworn tie
Bought in the hope he’d be
here
The date bought forward and
the appropriate food.
It stares me in the face,
the four familiar blister packs left still by the bed
Usurped in the last few
weeks with ‘something for the pain’
And a chair for awkward
visitors
Repeating that he ‘looks
peaceful’
odd that, as he never was.
It takes the place of
thought
invades the writing of lists
Once filled with biscuits,
meals for two and full fat
milk.
It holds me amongst the
pillows, the dark
Then dreams replace It with
him
Walking our veiled girl
proudly toward her future.
And mine, alone.
It holds my shaking hand as he
should have
As I check the cars
The flowers, the order of
service
He was right to go for the
cheaper suit.
‘Daft to pay big for something
you’ll just wear once’
