I left a rose on your bedside when you were taken away,
I'll never forget the look in your eyes as we sat in silence;
Sharing stares as the tick of the clock kept ticking away the moments.

The moments I had with you now memories I have of you,
The doctors gave you the news, and as the family choked back tears;
All you did was smile and silently accept that you had had good years.

If I could be as brave as you then maybe I could learn to live as you did.
Unafraid in the face of defining moments.

Now some of us were bitter,
We felt cheated and robbed,
How could such a thing happen to someone so undeserving?

Others felt sad and wounded,
The end was quickly coming and with it you understood.

As we all took turns spending time with you,
It was to me you gave your greatest gift.

The words of the elder and time beyond time;
Now spoken from the dying.

You said;
Nothing is trivial and I love you.

I was the last to see you that day having been the last to show up,
In the night you closed your eyes knowing you'd never wake back up.

To this day it haunts me;
Your face in those final moments,
When most of us see the end we worry and fret, we're scared of the end.
But you,
All you did was accept it and smile.

And for that kind of strength,
I thank you.