After Mary's Death
by Denise Felt 2001
I dreamed I saw her in a dream --
she was not crying then.
Her eyes held that familiar gleam
I knew from way back when,
and she smiled at me, touched my face,
and told me she still cared.
And I felt free of that cold place
where I had once despaired.
I kissed her, and I swore my heart
was hers and always hers,
and we would no more be apart
as we had been for years.
She said she understood at last
the truths I couldn’t tell,
and we would soon forget the past
and all our tears as well.
The future was ours to enjoy!
I didn’t understand,
until I saw our little boy
come close and take our hands.
I wept for joy, I held them tight,
we kissed, and my heart broke.
I could not stay, try as I might,
and cried as I awoke.
I dreamed I saw her in a dream --
she was not crying then.
Her eyes held that familiar gleam
I knew from way back when,
and she smiled at me, touched my face,
and told me she still cared.
And I felt free of that cold place
where I had once despaired.
I kissed her, and I swore my heart
was hers and always hers,
and we would no more be apart
as we had been for years.
She said she understood at last
the truths I couldn’t tell,
and we would soon forget the past
and all our tears as well.
The future was ours to enjoy!
I didn’t understand,
until I saw our little boy
come close and take our hands.
I wept for joy, I held them tight,
we kissed, and my heart broke.
I could not stay, try as I might,
and cried as I awoke.