Lea

Ten years you shared
Life with us
Standing in the doorway
That fateful summer day
Tall and willowlike
Quiet mind, musical fingers
Intelligent laughter.

You were our company
When times were hard
In exile our souls had gone
Across the ocean miles
In search of a place
Beyond tyranny
You shared our tears
And laughter.

Three small children
Called you mother
When illness began
Its final designs on you
How we struggled
Against the relentless and
Slow descent
Into the smothering of
Life's breath
Your last year was
Spent with another's
Heart and lungs
Medical marvel
Doctor's casebook of
Experiment
You felt your person
Disappear into
The anonymous halls of
Science with only
A future for others
As you lie in your sweet grave
We tend in the spring
Visiting a place of repose and
Care for your children
Now grown tall
Past childhood.

I wish we could have
Spoken more but
Underneath the silent words
All sensed your departure
Sorrow and mystery held our
Tongues
But not our tears
As you left the
Small children
Still their mother
From across the grave
Speaking to them
In silent music
Directing their hearts
To blossom.