"Today I Met a Ghost"

I wrote this back in April of 2010, after a particularly sad visit to a friend who was dying from breast cancer. She was the inspiration, but I cannot dedicate this to her, because she was strong until the end, even when I (clearly) was not.

Today I met Ghost

The person in front of me
looks like she belongs in Auschwitz.
Eighty some-odd pounds
of lost hope;
She knows no rescue is coming.

In her eyes is pain,
Not for herself,
For me,
Her family,
Her husband
Their son.

I remember my grandfather's photos.
The ones from the war.
Except there is no barbed wire here
or guard towers in sight.
Only an oxygen tank and hospital bed.

No swastika flags or blind eyes.
Only pink ribbons,
And a family who cannot look away.
The TV is playing “I survived”.
It's the cancer episode;
She turns it off.

Her eyes close and she apologizes.
“I don't know why I can't stay awake.”
“It's the weather” I tell her.
“Has the rain helped the flowers?
I've not gotten outside in a while.”
I tell her yes.

Outside rain falls,
Weeds grow,
life continues unknowing.

I kiss her head and leave