I heard the clock—tick, tock, tick, tock,
Time slipping through the sterile air.
The machines hummed—beep, beep, beep,
A rhythm of waiting, a breath of despair.
Outside your window, black birds swirled,
Too many to count, shadows in flight.
I wished them away, I begged the sky,
But some endings don’t wait for the light.
My heart still beat—pound, pound, pound,
I willed it to beat enough for two.
I tried to breathe my life into you,
A whisper, a gasp, a desperate sound.
I pleaded, I begged, I cursed, I prayed,
Fingers clutching, voice undone.
Wanting to scream, but choking instead,
As if my breath could bring back yours.
Cry on cry, sobs that broke,
Tears drip, drip, drip, dripping slow.
Pooling in silence, staining my hands,
A river of loss that will not go.
Your nurse called softly, sharing my name,
Her voice a plea, a fragile thread.
I held your hand, I swore, I promised,
But silence answered me instead.
You never woke, you never turned,
And time kept ticking as the black birds burned.