More than I can
Possibly try to handle
Is the raucous breath
That sears my lungs
Once in, once out
Is at first much harder
Than near anything
I have ever done

Then footfall softly
Creeps by my door
And oak's deep creak
Declares I have
A solemn visitor
And two crusted eyelids
Part ever so reluctantly
To discover who looks on

A smile sweetly blesses
My tear-stung face
As I recognize the love
That gazes down at me
Slowly, carefully, I rise,
And an arm meets my side
To take me gently up
Out of the darkness where I lie

Through those eyes,
Warm with patience
And caring support
I find I have strength,
Much more than I believed
I could ever keep again
And neglected legs
Find strength to revive

I find I can stand,
And so, of course, I do
Rising straight into
The loving embrace
Of the one who found me
So far lost in misery
Without a spark of hope--
And brushed my tears away

Arms wrap around me
Warm lips press
Softly on my head
And I hear a whisper
That I more feel than hear
Which tells me tenderly
That absolutely everything
Will be all right