Defining William: Lessons from the Bedside

Read live by the author: Defining William.

Every morning I went to William’s bedside first. He was always awake and waiting for me. I became William’s family as he had no one else. He would often ask me how long he had left, and I had many chances to answer his one question. I told him to live for each day and to bask in preciousness of each moment. He seemed to struggle to define his own existence, but I was sure he understood.

Defining William

Rattling thoughts,

Loss of control,

Tangled knots,

Unsteady Soul

Uneasy feelings,

Can’t let go,

Fast food healing,

Fail ordinary Joes.

Mistaken identity,

Thoughts waning,

Confused sincerity,

Hardly life sustaining.

Vivacious termination,

Absence of peace,

Enlightening vibrations,

Refusing to cease.

Overwhelming fear,

Frightening silence,

An old man’s tear,

For all the world’s violence.

Expensive freedom,

Priceless love,

The time has come,

For William’s journey to above.

This poem appears in the book Lessons from the Bedside.