'Precious' Poem by Edwina Reizer

She fell asleep on my shoulder.
I could hear her breathing sound.
My shoulder was getting uncomfortable
but I would not shift around.
I couldn't see her face it seemed
and even if I could
I could not tell if she dreamed?

Maybe she was dreaming of way back when
she was twenty and I was twenty-two.
Could anyone dream that far back
or was her memory gone in her dream too?
Slowly she had drifted away from me
and all that we'd ever been
was no longer our reality.

The days were long. The nights were short
and the mornings were always the same.
I looked at her. She looked at me
and asked, 'What's my name? '
I smiled at her and answered 'Precious' my dear.
'Oh' she then would exclaim.

Each day had become a sorrowful scene
and the time had finally come
when I knew I could no longer care for her.
My emotions were completely numb.
I felt her move on my shoulder
and I knew she'd come awake.
I grasped her so I could hold her.

She asked me 'Where are we going? '
I told her we're going home.
And so our lives which had once been blessed
had finally come to rest.
No more would I feel the weight of her head
sleeping on my shoulder
and the days of my life became colder.