i. Hovering
That night . . .
my body turned against me
you praying, willing me to live.
My last breath
words unheard by you.
I am still here.
I hover
in rays of sun
in soft mist beneath grey clouds
in star lit and blackened nights.
My essence ever walks with you.
Savor life, my dearest.
I am content, waiting patiently.
ii. In Absentia
That night . . .
your breath rattled
eyes closed,
never to open again.
Days later
we celebrated your life
even as emptiness suffocated me.
I redecorated yesterday
all mirrors removed.
My reflection without you
too painful, too alone,
reminder of you
in absentia.
I’m hosting Tuesday Poetics at dVerse today, the virtual pub for poets, asking folks to write a poem that somehow deals with opposites or uses the literary device of antithesis. One can include simple words in opposition happy/sad, inside/outside; or describe one event from two opposite viewpoints. The opposition can happen in one poem; different stanzas; or even two short poems. Folks are free to be creative….as long as they deal with opposites! For a different take on the prompt, a satirical one, go to my second post, Mishmash Succotash. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time….come join us and write in opposites or just read along!
lillian the home poet 
Now this is the Lillian poet I know and love. Good use of the device.
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Ah, you are making me smile, Toni. So glad you enjoyed this one. Hoping you’ll post to the prompt today….would love to see your words here, my friend.
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I love how the opposite is the two perspectives… too often we think more of the absence of the one dying than of the relief it can bring to a person being allowed to die.
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Exactly, Bjorn. I just finished a novel and in just a small part of it, there is a discussion of a woman who would not let go…in fact, she ignored the final wishes of her husband refusing to let him go. I think that book was got me thinking in this line today. Glad you enjoyed.
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I like the redecoration at the end with removing all mirrors. Unexpected, but beautiful ending.
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Glad you enjoyed, Frank!
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I love your last four lines — poignant and beautiful!
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Thank you, Jo. We have a dear friend who lost his wife a year ago, after a two year battle with ovarian cancer. My sister-in-law lost my brother to a sudden heart attack at age 51, some twenty+ years ago. Our friend said to us recently, “you know that line where in your wedding we say ‘until death till we part’? Well it’s not true, is it? It keeps going only now it aches.” And my sister-in-law said to me last year, “there is no closure.”
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There’s a lot to think about in this one.
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Yes. When to let go….how to stay living when a part of us is gone….
I’ve not had this happen to me……..almost……..but it did not. Thankful for every day.
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I hope it never does.
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I like this pairing of voices, both ending with the same yearning to be together. I hope the one left behind can learn to savour life again. There is much love here.
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Thank you, Sarah. You’ve done a very sensitive reading here. I appreciate your lovely comment.
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I like the two points of view, different perspective but ending with words of love and care ~ This moved me Lillian ~
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Thank you, Grace.
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A poignant pairing of voices in this haunting and heartfelt write, lillian!
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Thank you for your lovely reply here, Frank. Much appreciated.
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My genuine pleasure, lillian! 🙂
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Wow! Very well done… you can’t get any better opposites than Life and Death!
Dwight
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Thanks, Dwight. It was a somber one to contemplate.
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Grief is the flip-side of love, isn’t it? This is so true and painfully beatiful. Raising a quiet glass to all the blessed damn love in this world. Thanks.
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And thank you Lona for the lovely and heartfelt reply.
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I like the two perspectives in your antitheses, Lill,and the way you juxtapose death and grief. I love the sweet release, the flying free of the body:
‘in rays of sun
in soft mist beneath grey clouds
in star lit and blackened nights’
and the thought that
‘My essence ever walks with you’.
The lines that bring tears to my eyes are:I
‘all mirrors removed.
My reflection without you
too painful, too alone’.
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Thank you, Kim. Yes — death can be a release for the dying, a flying free as you say — and then become a prison of sorts for the one left behind. But hopefully, they “listen” to those last two lines of their dying loved one.
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Two sides of a coin, so different yet they need to be together.
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This is a very astute comment Vandana. Thank you!
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Living with grief is not easy. The letting go doesn’t just happen when the survivor wills it to happen. Thank you for painting with such precise brushstrokes the generosity and regret of the one who leaves, as well as the guilt and inability to let go of the one who stays behind… I agree with many of the other comments—your poem is profuse with love.
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Thank you for this very thoughtful response. It is truly appreciated and comes from the heart of the understanding. It is the “living” with the grief that must continue….even in absentia.
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I love how you looked at death from both perspectives, from the one left behind as well as the one who left.
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The feeling of loss was so palpable. Goosebumps and tears.
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Wow! Such an interesting take on the prompt. End of life, something we all have to deal with. I agree that it’s good when we comply with terminal wishes. But it is sometimes hard to face the facts that in the end it’s about the departed. A nice write Lillian.
Pat
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Love this.
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