Waiting

my bedside vigil-
each moment slipping away
taking you with them
–
machines hum-
outside your window
a starless night

a cold rain falling
I sit in the dark waiting
for you to come home
–
past midnight
your car’s tires
on the drive

staring at the floor
scuffed and worn beneath my seat
from those in my shoes
–
dawn breaks-
outside the
waiting room

in twenty-two years
from now I pray I’ll still be
waking next to you
–
in anticipation-
dreaming of
our old age

A tendril of smoke
Rises from her cigarette
As she sits alone