A poem by Kiesha Duenas
I saw the worry in your eyes
Each time I went up to you
To give you a kiss on the forehead
And tell you
that I love you
I saw you crying on that white bed while you looked at me
The man you married sat in a chair right next to you
The man that slapped you, beat you,
Laid his hands on you
The man that forced you to do things you didn’t want to
The man that did the same to me
I witnessed the pain you went through
You couldn’t talk, walk,
Or even eat
You just lied on that white bed
While you slowly faded away’
For days, I prayed
I prayed for you to get better
I prayed for you to stay
But cancer got the best of you
And when the next day came,
You were already gone
I never forgot the day you left.
When you were gone,
life felt like walking on an unstable bridge
from one cliff to the other
I’m tired
I’m scared
My senses tell me to give up
I think
“Maybe I’ll get to see you”
I stop walking
I look down and take a deep breath
I prepare to leap
Then at the back of my head
I hear your voice
And it’s telling me
“Keep walking”