Frank Poem by Adrian Taheny

“The family can go in now”
The nurse said in a solemnly caring way.
And I sat outside on my own
On the night that Frank died.

I found a prayer inside me
And it occupied my tired mind
For a few short minutes,
While I came to terms with my
Exclusion and confusion.

Deep sympathy but no tears
Reminded me that our friendship
Was that of a friend in need
And for the living but not the dead.

In the last few weeks when
He needed someone, anyone
To sit and listen, to encourage,
I was there for him and now
My job was done.

We grew up together in some ways
But apart in many more.
We argued and fought as kids
And drove to work as adults.
Never very close but never too far away.

And as if by some stroke of fate
We were thrown together in Galway,
To keep company in the last few weeks.

“The family can go in now”
The nurse said in a solemnly caring way.
And I sat outside on my own
On the night that Frank died.