No need for words

Something that I noticed when I first moved to the US, was that terminal illnesses were often handled as chronic illnesses that just needed to be managed. It confused me at first, because I was used to terminal illnesses being about preparing to die, rather than fighting to live.

This poem is about a friend that I worked with at DuPont. She was terminally ill for the entire time that I knew her, yet right up until the very end, she went to work every day, always putting on a brave face, even when her chemo treatment was wiping her out. I wrote this after going to see her one last time in hospital, hours before she died. She was too weak to talk, but the way she held on to my hand said it all.

No need for words

No need for words, sweet friend
Let them go unspoken
For I read them in your eyes
I feel them in the touch of your hand in mine

Long have you struggled
Facing your illness and fighting back
Your courage has humbled me
Always a smile, at the most difficult of times
Making light of all that you’ve endured

No need for words, blessed friend
Let them go unspoken
Outside, the autumn sun is shining 
But not as brightly as you

Loved ones gather around you
Sensing your fight is almost over
Knowing the world will be a lesser place
When you finally slip away

No need for words, dear friend
Let our last good-bye be silent
Our friendship speaking for itself
As I hold your hand in mine