grief poem

The Cure – A Poem

I knew each time I touched you, it could be the last
And I feared with each kiss time was moving too fast

And I held on tightly
And I longed for the cure
But you slipped away slowly
Now the past is a blur

And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come
And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come

We tried to enjoy every second we had
And I held you and loved you and for that I am glad

And we went on vacation
To our place in the sun
But each sunset I feared
That next year you’d be gone

And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come
And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come

And I soaked in your words and I memorized your face
Because I knew that too soon you’d be gone from this place

And time flew by quickly
It wouldn’t slow down,
And days became weeks
Until ten months had gone

And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come
And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come

And I hoped and I prayed and I screamed and I railed
But the shots and the pills and the treatments all failed

And I begged God for mercy
And I raged against fate
As your body kept weakening
Until it was too late

And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come
And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come

And despite the remission, you didn’t get well
And one morning in August you finally fell

And your hip was fractured
And complications set in
And the doctors all told me
That this was the end

And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come
And I longed for the cure that I knew wouldn’t come

So I signed all the papers; there was nothing I could do
And I whispered goodbye and I held on to you

And your life ended
Your suffering is through
But my pain is forever
As I live without you

And I long for the cure that I know won’t come
And I long for the cure that I know won’t come

April 25, 2018

About the author

Katherine Billings Palmer is a technical writer, poet, and essayist from Garden City, Michigan. She’s won several academic writing awards, including first place in the University of Michigan Dearborn Critical Essay Contest for her work about poet John Donne: “‘The Sun Rising’: A Lover’s Boast.”

In 2017, Katherine’s husband, Rick, died of complications from small cell lung cancer. She wrote a series of poems and essays about her struggles to cope with her grief. I Wanted to Grow Old With You is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

Her latest book, A Widow’s Words: Grief, Reflection, Prose, and Poetry – The First Year was published in January 2019 and is also available on Amazon.com.

Katherine is a guest blogger for the Hope for Widows Foundation and writes about her grief journey at www.TheWritingWidow.com.

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