They need not say anything.
She sits at his side,
Her hand atop his,
Loosely gripped more powerfully than any muscle could manage.
They need not say anything.
She is still, quiet and vacant.
Everything she has: is given to him;
All of her muster,
Her strength,
Her compassion.
Is given to him in a single glance.
They need not say anything.
She watches the glisten of his,
leave his eye,
A hard road fought,
Struggle takes tole.
He battled not for him,
She knows he endured.
They need not say anything.
And they sit through unrest,
More Spartan than Doric.
Opium gives him no peace,
There is no comfort in her eyes.
They need not say anything,
There is nothing an “i love you” could add.
Heavy weighs the air of orbits,
So many shared in spin,
Falling through time together.
The half mast flag,
The empty chair,
The fools suffered gladly.
The whisky corked,
The tune unsung,
The chuckle lost to history.
A million fires could not burn with the strength you showed in leaving.
A million men; you were and are,
Each and all worth hearing.
Glorious love,
Has filled this hall.
Strangers, family, friends.
Remember together,
Mourn one and all,
A father, a brother, one Les.