Where there was need she would care
No matter whom, or what, or where
She'd give her time just to be there
She'd knit with a needle that was almost a wand,
Season dishes that were never 'blond'
Cast no contempt and hurt no-one
Only if too much drinking was done (and he did)
Would she smile and admonish with 'stoopid"
But this evil demon craves the guiltless soul
And for that journey it demands its toll:
A plaything, a puppet that it can control
Creeping at first like a thief at night
Slowly turning out the light
So wandering lost in a strange hotel
Not much to see, not much to tell
Except to say she was not feeling very well
'Till mocking every face of joy
It took her like a Halloween toy
Stole all her life, stained all who'd care
Spread its heartbreak, and despair.
Torment, loneliness and shame
No words have been forged that can explain
His burden, sacrifice and pain
But it did not win, for at the end
Though no passage of time could mend
At last her love defied its touch
Dragged her soul from that vile clutch
And then love poured back into her eyes
As she held his hand to say goodbye.
22nd January 2024