SEVENTY-NINTH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Erik Flask

Kindness is the first and the last.

Something left. Not something past.

We cannot speak, you cannot see much, and I hear nothing

The acrobatics, the aerobics, the enthusiasm and the passion

Our travels around that world

Experiences of chemistry, divinity, insights of wild humor and sensible grandeur

Dried and gone

I cannot tell a joke and you cannot understand them now

We have lost almost all that we had, all that made days move and be alive

Few functions are still online; no remaining functions work without effort

We have decayed. We are not much; not much to share.

But we are not alone.

The one thing I loved about you at first

The one thing you offered that made you different from every other one is still there.

You were kind, and with your love, you let me know this.

And now you creak to turn your face and squint to check to make sure I still know this.