Early This Morning
I must confess my deed to you
As you lay there asleep on that miserable recliner
Swaddled in familiar blankets, breathing the old air, the old smells
of a broken old home that you know, that still knows you
I checked on you, many times, to just make sure you were alright
To fix the picture of that moment in my mind forever
As you lay there in the smiles and frowns and inexplicable gestures
Of some quiet, mildly animated, dream I wish I could fathom
You seemed comfortable enough, and warm.
About an hour before you awoke, I could not resist
To brush my lonely fingers gently, knowingly, through your hair for a moment
Barely a moment, not enough to disturb you, but only to feel your warmth,
Enough, I hoped, to let your Spirit know I was there
No bitterness or guile. No questions or demands. No expectations at all
Just memory of a million times before, that you never were aware of
When I looked at you, sleeping your beautiful sleep
I leaned down, and I tenderly kissed the top of your head
I don't know if I stole it, or I gave it to you, as things are
It did not seem either way, at that moment in time
It only, was.
It meant nothing,
Yet
It meant
Everything