He was kneeling all alone in the graveyard
Keeping vigil at her final resting place
Paying his last respects to his beloved one now gone
His tears were falling freely on her headstone
His voice rising to the heavens as he cried aloud in anguish
Why?
Why was she the one to go?
Memories of the love they once shared came rushing in upon his mind
Those tender kisses and sweet caresses
All their shared hopes and fragile dreams
He could still see her golden hair shining in the sunlight
Hear her glorious laughter bubbling out with delight
Gaze into her vibrant eyes that showed such love for him
Thunder crashed suddenly above him
Shattering all his sweet reveries
Brought him back to the days of blackness
Demanded he remember only the pain and loss
Rain came pouring down from the heavens
As if to drive him from her side
Forcing the bond that once was, now to break
The man fell prostrate to the earth
Clung tightly to the headstone
Vowing to weather the storm with her
Tried to shield her from the pelting raindrops
Regrets burst in upon him like a flood
Washing away the golden memories of before
In his mind’s eye now he saw her
A fragile frame laid upon a bed of suffering
Her dancing eyes now dull and vacant
Those golden strands turned frail and gray
Moans of pain replacing laughter that once had been
Gone were the tender kisses and sweet caresses
Replaced now with confused looks and repeated questions
Who was he?
Had they ever met before?
He pleaded with love for her to remember
Begged her to recall
Told her over and over the story of their love
Sat by her side for hours on end
Holding her hand in his as long as he could
But death was determined to break them apart
It would not hear of a love enduring forever
With cruel hands, it robbed his beloved of her health
Turned her memories into madness
Blinded her to the sight of him
The one she had always called her husband
And he had to sit there silently
Hold his tongue and allow death to have its way
His oft shed tears were to no avail
Begging for mercy fell on deaf ears
Death was ready to snatch her away
Eager to have her as its prey
And on a beautiful autumn morn
She slipped away from him without a word
Her very last breath he never e’en heard
When his eyes once heavy with slumber finally opened
He saw what death had done
Stolen his beloved wife away
Leaving him the heavy price of unbearable grief to pay
Now here he was in the graveyard
All alone facing a life without her by his side
If he could have saved her from the grave she now was in
How he would have relentlessly tried
The rain that once fell round him now ceased
Thunder no more sounded in the skies
A glimmer of sunlight streamed out from behind the dark clouds
Resting briefly on her headstone
With trembling fingers, he traced the graven words
Brushed away a few minute specks of dirt
And pressed his lips to the cold headstone
The only kiss he could give her now
He straightened the beautiful flowers laying upon the grave
Slowly rose from kneeling on the cold wet ground
Reached for his worn wooden cane lying close beside
And painfully rising with unsteadiness to his feet
He dared to take one last look behind
And heavily, so heavily he sighed
Whispered with trembling lips and tears
Goodbye, my beloved