Als Winters Poem by Bill Galvin

Nights got longer;
Days got colder.
Chill crept into our bones.
Fear got stronger.
Your smile got older
And your spirit only dimly shone.

Springtime was later.
Our gardens languished.
And birdsong seemed farther away.
Interests abated,
Life zest diminished.
As we tried to take day by day.

Summer was short;
Blooms had no scent.
Times were mainly humorless.
You were hard to comfort;
Your limbs were all bent.
And sleep was fleeting at best.

Autumn was tougher,
With a future bleaker,
As nature was going into hiding.
Your body got rougher.
Your will grew weaker.
As we knew ALS was abiding.

A new winter encroaches.
Your appetite is waning,
As you have trouble with swallowing.
A last season approaches,
With low energy sustaining
You only until that last calling.

Perhaps one last season together;
And if it weren't for the good times
I know this would be harder to do.
But then, for worse or for better,
It's because of those good times
That life will be so hard without you.


1-24-2015