Dying Is Strange And Hard... Poem by Audrey Stephenson

I have my pictures of you, you don't look back at me
A smile I'd almost forgotten, bruises I don't see
Never forgive you for a sky turned from gray to black
Come out and kiss me, darling
I promise I'll kiss you back.
A new head on my shoulder,
A needle in my ear
Every kind word brings new pain
Instead of my eyes,
His reflection in the mirror.
I have a sickness, but I'm not the only one
Even in health...
In each other’s arms, they're wasting away
Sickened just as I am and crippled with disease
A song comes from above
I look up - there's a tree and a small brown bird
Even the sparrows have built a nest
But we, poor fools, have built nothing
What a shame not to know that you're dying
Tell us we're dying, tell us again.
I have a sickness
The sparrows built a nest
My crippled, twisted body is swallowed by the earth
As my broken head finds rest.