She's on her deathbed Now
And you're wondering how it will be
Why, it would be forty years in a few months

Uncoordinated truths wander in
Wander out
And in again
Your mind fails to focus on Now
But plods backwards
To Then

Yes
Yes, her hair was brown once
Yes, she bore your son
And your tears
Yes, she strived (and it was hard)
Evenly to divide the love she had
To you and to him

Yes, she gladly gave
Her life for you
Her days for you
Her nights for you

Strange
In wandering to Then
Your mind halts for a moment
Not abruptly, but as if it's greatest truth
Were opening
And you're amused
To find it stop
On such an obscure, insignificant thought

That day she came home
Grinning as only she could
As only she did when a surprise
Was on the way
That night a man brought to our house
A small dog
Whom we fed and cleaned
And petted and laughed at
Named "Fool" and learned to love
So much we cried when he died

Strange how a mind rambles
Errantly, haltingly, foolishly
But most of all beautifully

No
No, her smile was wider than that
No, her eyes were brighter than that
No, mind, don't fade
Her cheeks were pinker than that

Then