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TITLE: The Very Thought | Previous Challenge Entry
By Verna Cole Mitchell
03/03/19
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Resting between this life and the next,
He lay very still on the narrow hospital bed,
The slight in-and-out movement of his chest
The only evidence of life I could see,
And a nurse’s soft footsteps coming into the room
The only sound I heard.
The very thought that he might slip away,
Leaving me and our life together,
Filled me with ever deepening despair.
That I could love him even more
Were he to go to heaven now
Had not occurred to me before.
I pushed back the errant lock of hair,
Resting on his forehead,
And stroked his hands atop the cover,
Those same hands that had held me
In love and protection and comfort.
My mind returned to our first date,
And the love that had blossomed quickly,
To the hot August night of our marriage,
And our happiness as our family grew
To add a son and daughter,
And later their own families.
The good times and the hard times
We’d shared through our married life
Had brought us ever closer to God
And to each other.
And as I sat with head bowed,
I prayed for my husband’s healing.

God, in His mercy and kindness,
Heard my prayer, along with those
Of our children and our friends.
My heart is filled with praise,
And I rejoice In my beloved’s recovery.
I am thankful to be spared for now
A different testing of the old adage,
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

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Member Comments

Member

Date

03/07/19

Been there. Different ending. You described exactly how it feels. A tear in my eye. Good job.

03/07/19

Been there. Different ending. You described exactly how it feels. A tear in my eye. Good job.

03/07/19

Ahhh... I could feel the breath-stopping heartache of not knowing. I loved the memories and wanted to hear more. The free verse added to the scattered random thoughts. So touching - well done.

Betty Castleberry

03/07/19

So very tender. You captured real emotion in these verses. I loved it all.

Mariane Holbrook

03/08/19

This is so tenderly written that I could hardly wait til the end. I was afraid it would end differently and I breathed a sigh of relief that the writer was spared real grief. There is so much love packed into this piece that everyone who reads it will relate in some very personal way to it. Very well done indeed.

03/08/19

Awww, how precious this is! You are blessed to have such love in your life, and you beautifully expressed it here. Well done!

03/08/19

Oh my heart ached then rejoiced at his being okay, what a blessing.

This is something all of us think, I know I do. But, we just pray for the best and enjoy each moment we can...and thank God for His blessings.

Thank you for sharing,

God bless you~

03/08/19

This made me teary-eyed. You brought us into that hospital room with you and showed us your beautiful life together. What a relief there was a happy ending.

Corinne Smelker

03/08/19

Such a lovely poem, very evocative of times past. And I love the ending!

03/09/19

Your title is perfect for this heart-felt poem. I wanted more memories, but the ones you added were exactly what were needed. So glad the outcome was not what we expected.

Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom

03/09/19

This is so lovely. I could feel the emotions and the pain of the MC.

03/09/19

Oh, this is quite good. I like it. And glad the ending wasn't what I was expecting.

03/10/19

As a pastor I've been in those hospital rooms where this plays out. You've captured the longing for what was and what could be very well.