"Time of Death, 1:14pm"
What we all worry about lays there; a basic thing,
like the planting of seeds or the hunting of animals.
It was Easter Sunday. They were in church when
the fibrillation began. Now all of the family waited.
On plastic chairs in the hallway, two grandchildren were
swinging their legs, trying to touch the floor.
They laughed. Their mother said, "Hush. Be still,"
hoping it would change everything.
Someone asked her husband if he wanted to see her.
I picked up underwear that had been cut away and covered
all but her head with a clean sheet. "She died, didn't she?
Is that it?" he asked. "Yes, she died."
When he saw her, their years together blew through him
like a stinging wind. He looked at her, then gently
kissed the palm of her hand. "She always liked that."
I could see what their whole life had been.
Posted January 30, 1997
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