Last Night

I watched a man die last night, And the night before that. Not because I could. His breath holding still, blankness Emanating from open eyes, Once tickled by long lashes, now fixed. A glimpse…A window…His window.

Tongue fallen, limp to the side of the same mouth that once breathed “I love you.” The chill of his finger tips cradled In mine, confirmed what my heart knew.

I watched a man die last night. His last beat, exhale, kiss, and caress, Goodbye without words, only actions. Agonal agony engulfing us, Emptiness magnified by the still silence of tears Colliding with the print on his green gown.

Overwhelming scent of cherry blossoms, Blooming, springing to life, in the same moment. Green emerging out of every Nook and cranny, thriving, reaching Toward the sky, the light, opening up.

Stripped clean of all that I thought I once knew and was sure of. Expectations and preconceived notions… Emergence, simultaneously as another leaves. I felt a man die last night.