Poetry

The Madcap

(1,320 posts) Mon Sep 30, 2024, 07:40 PM Sep 2024

I Know the Day Will Come

Last edited Fri Oct 18, 2024, 07:25 PM - Edit history (1)

I know the day will come
When one of us will lose the other
Sadness will overcome
And drown the memories of love
At least for a little while
Until times remembered
Peek from under the shadows
And open up the remaining heart once more

That day in the future
Most dreaded of all days
When a spouse departs this earth
For parts unknown
We plan out our future lives
Hiding from the truth
That one will vanish first
And leave the other with no way to follow

So what do we do now?
Do we ignore the future?
Do we stubbornly soldier onward?
Do we dig in and fight against time itself?
Or do we look into each other’s eyes
Knowing the day will come
And say to the other each and every day
“I love you” from the heart?

2 replies

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I Know the Day Will Come (Original Post) The Madcap Sep 2024 OP

Thank you! NCgayguy Jul 10 #1

Thank you for your story. The Madcap Jul 10 #2

NCgayguy

(253 posts)

1. Thank you!

Reply to The Madcap (Original post)

Thu Jul 10, 2025, 05:08 PM

Jul 10

Dear MadCap,

Thank you for sharing this with me. That day came for us.

Tommy took me in his arms on Jan 28, 1984. He gave me love and life. 41 years of love.

Jan 1st, 2025, I held Tommy in my arms as he took his last breath and took all my love and most of my soul with him. Just the two of us alone, at home, as it's always been. I cried and held him for what seemed an eternity. I laid him back down on he bed. I closed his barely opened eyes. I undressed him, bathed him his last bath, and redressed him. I changed the bed linens and blanket. I cried and talked to him the entire time. It was the most excruciatingly painful thing I've done my entire life and the most loving I've ever done. It was my honor and privilege to do it. Tommy is my love, my whole world and always has been. How could I allow strangers to give him his last bath?

I've heard it said that the good memories replace the bad ones. Not this time. Not this memory. It is bittersweet and I will never let it go. I am proud I showed him dignity and respect and love, no matter how painful it was. He would have done the same for me. The memory lives with me everyday, unfading. Every second of every image seared into my mind.

I'm sorry I shared so much personal information about myself, Tommy and that day. Yet I am not sorry. Your literary work speaks for itself. You feel, you write and you share universal thought and emotion. You are truly gifted.

May You Always Be Healthy, Safe and Happy and LOVED
Reis

The Madcap

(1,320 posts)

2. Thank you for your story.

Reply to NCgayguy (Reply #1)

Thu Jul 10, 2025, 05:44 PM

Jul 10

I can see from your words how much you cared for Tommy, not just when it was easier, but also in those difficult times as he neared the end. It's obvious from your actions caring for him that your love was deep.

You are right to value your memories, no matter how difficult it is. So many people go through the death process anonymously in a hospital, without friends or relatives. I know that he was glad you were there to see him through, as that is one of the greatest acts of love someone can give.

I wrote this poem as encouragement not to take relationships for granted. Time has that nasty habit of sneaking up on us before we can express ourselves to our partner in life. Knowing you are loved at the end must be the greatest comfort.

Thank you for your encouragement. There are days I wonder why I keep posting these poems, but for all the people who click on them, that one person who says they are touched by them gives me the motivation to continue.

Thanks again,

The Madcap

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