KISS ME FOREVER

Life is short. I am old.
With whom will I have to share
the days remaining? I am now alone.
I wish for a friend, a woman
who will join me step by step
as we approach
our inexorable destination.
What will it be like,
I writing poems,
she still a beauty,
but not the beauty she was
60 years ago?
Will we dance together?
No, I have been a ******* for 20 years.
Will we laugh together? I know so.
Will I hold her in my arms
as she goes to sleep?
I will hold her in my arms for eternity.
Whose eyes will be the first to close forever?
I hope it will be mine,
for to be without her
would mean I would lose my heart forever,
even as I breathed.
Hold my hand in yours.
Kiss me, my dear. Kiss me forever.

TOD HOWARD HAWKS