Old shriveled man, gasping for breath
Fighting every moment to avoid death
I stood there with the window behind me
Sunshine on my hair, creating a halo
Must have looked like an angel.
He looked at me and eyes widened
No words, a nod, eyes transfixed
 
"John, Do you remember your mother?
She is waiting for you to come to her.
Stop your fighting. Go to her
She's waiting to take you home."
He holds my hand, not tightly, but felt
I doubt if he knows who I am.
 
Perhaps he thinks I am somebody else
A sister, a niece, maybe even an angel
He struggles to say something, but gives up
The effort is too great - too much energy.
Every now and then a stab of pain across his chest
And his arm raises in the air "Death Watch" - any time now
"Surprised he lasted this long," nurses say.
 
I stand there for twenty, maybe thirty minutes
Looking for man I once feared. He is gone
And in his place an imposter, never known.
Stories from others of his continued wrath
And hatred on all who came near
But that is not the man I see before me.
 
I can feel sorry for this shell I see
A man terrified to meet his maker
Fighting to hold on to life that is nothing
But the brief rest before the onslaught of pain
Sears through his chest again
"Let it go and rest."