Vigil
I know how it feels
to sit at the bedside
in a hospice room,
watching.
I know the smells
that permeate the air
surrounding a loved one
whose time is running out--
bleached sheets and a faint odor
of unwashed hair.
I know the halting rise
and fall of the chest,
have listened to the labored breathing
not knowing whether to pray
for the next breath or the final one.
I know the precise yet tender gestures
of caregivers doing what they can
to keep the patient comfortable,
without hope of healing,
seeking only a peaceful transition.
Twenty years ago,
it was my mother.
Today it is my planet.
Vigil by Gloria Heffernan | Lemon Poetry Reed Diffuser
Gloria Heffernan’s most recent three full-length poetry collections is Fused (Shanti Arts Publishing). Her craft book, Exploring Poetry of Presence (Back Porch Productions) won the CNY Book Award for Nonfiction. She received the 2022 Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Prize. Gloria is the author of the collections Peregrinatio: Poems for Antarctica (Kelsay Books), and What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, (New York Quarterly Books). Her work has appeared in over 100 publications including Poetry of Presence (vol. 2).
