She whispered
In his ear
As he closed his eyes
And counted back from 10,
Pretending he had made a bomb
Inside himself,
Ticking down
And down and down
Until that final click,
And the switch would flip
And his eyes would
Alight for a moment
Then darken.
She whispered:
"Please, just one more day.
Don't go. Just one more day."
She whispered and his eyes closed,
And she counted her heartbeats
As she watched his breathing slow and slow until he inhaled and
Stopped. And in his last breath,
He heard the click,
But there was no bomb,
And no great boom,
Just the click,
And a soft movement,
Like a leaf pushing against the wind
As it falls from the tree.