Staring Into The Future Poem by RoseAnn V. Shawiak

This poem was written a few days before my Mom died. We were all praying for a miracle, but none came. We were afraid to leave the hospital, thinking she would die if we did. That's where the last line came from: I am afraid wherever I am, reality will have been there before me. So for five weeks we all stayed at the hospital, Mom was in ICU, she coded - no one told us until she had already died - we never got to hear her voice again. Afterwards we were told Mom could've lived another year without the bypass. Her cardiologist moved out of state and several years later I heard that he quit practicing and gave up being a doctor altogether. Mom died because of his incompetence and he knew it. Mom was full of life, always smiling and laughing, people just gravitated to her, her spirit was beautiful and inspiring to everyone, especially to us, her children and our children. She will forever be missed in this life on earth.