You kissed me softly in the rain,
then laughed gently into my mouth.
It tasted like Spring.

Death lives within these walls.
It seeped up through the attic rafters,
Settled down in the furthest recesses,
And it waited for me.

I know you, Death.
We become more familiar with each passing day.
You are the movement in my peripheral in an empty room;
The whisper in my ear originating from nowhere;
The hair on my arms and neck standing, unprovoked;
The unease slowly building within me.

The cat knows you, too.
I see her watching you as you move throughout the house,
Never turning her back to you.
She is protecting me.
Even when you call her name, she will not leave my side.
She arches her back in warning when you get too close -
Is she warning you to stay away?
Or warning me that you are approaching?

I sense you are getting stronger, Death.
I feel you when you slink up beside me and linger there -
But yesterday you touched me.
It froze me to my soul, and to the spot where I was standing.
Unable to move.
Unable to breathe.
Gripped by a terror I've never known before,
But understand I will know again.

My light is slowly fading into your darkness
And I feel helpless to stop it.
What do you want from me, Death?
And how far will you go to get it?

The first of the warmest days of spring
A beautiful view stretched out before me
Sun shining, clouds drifting
Winter's brutal cold a fading memory

Red tulips standing at attention
Their soft floral scent fills the air
The sun's rays warm on my skin
A gentle breeze touches your hair

Sitting together hand in hand
Across the table from each other
We came together as though it were planned
Each one so in love with the other

How is it we are so blessed
Living this life of bliss
Our love envied by the rest
It doesn't get much better than this

I look back fondly at my twenties
A time between youth and responsibility
Moving through the world independently
Nobody counting on me

Now in my early fifties
I am all things to everybody
Wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, employee
Never a moment to sit and just be

When I'm in my eighties
Will I be content, my time completely free?
Or will I be alone in my thoughts and my home
Wishing, again, somebody needed me?

There's a spider in the corner
Spinning silk into structure
I'm repulsed by this intruder
Just the same I want to touch her

I watch her distrustingly
I must admit she frightens me
Weaving an intricate canopy
Above my ficus tree

She thinks she's safe there but instead
For fear she may drop on my head
I am going to have to **** her
Creepy, calculating, dead