Silence

Life forces us every day
to do one thing:
Breathe.

In a hospital room I sat
watching Mother
Breathe.

I closed my eyes for just minutes,
sleeping.

Silence
Woke me. Her life slipped
away while I still
Breathed.

For years I felt a deep
guilt for having slept,
Breathing

While Mother’s life
ceased with one final
Breath.

I should have been
awake for her, attentive,

Breathing
For her, perhaps,

instead I awoke to only
Silence.

IMG_1075

Unknown's avatar

Author: nananoyz

I'm a semi-retired crazy person with one husband and two cats.

5 thoughts on “Silence”

  1. She gave you life and heard your first breath; that was her role as a mother – to listen to YOUR breathing. In your breath, she found comfort. You gave her a final gift.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. She may have actually been waiting for you to fall asleep so you would not have to experience her last breath. This is what my father-in-law did. He was alone for just a few minutes when he took his last breath and we all realized that he did not want any of us to have that grief as we were going to be sad enough without him.

    Liked by 1 person

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