Dog Tags

There she appeared
Ghost like
To my semi-conscious self.

I heard sound but words
were lost
on my compromised hearing.

She reached out and took
my hand;
warm with a cool weight pressed tight.

I fell into a jerky, uncertain and
confused slumber
then waking far too early.

My sleepless night spent
in ignorance
with superficial distractions around.

The uneventful morning was a
calm before
the storm of a few little words.

An innocent question unleashed
a flood
of raw emotion over my body.

I knew how she had
said goodbye
but I didn’t want to believe.

© Charlie, May 2013