David

I traced the ridges of puckered skin
with fingertips shaking, mind racing.
His body had been torn, his mind suspended
in long sleep, shielded from life,
and as he spoke, I could almost hear
the crushing of metal and the sickening
thud of skull against rock.

Here he was though, lying naked before me,
my heart, my soul and father of my children.
Breathing, living, never to leave us,
and all that remains are these scars to remind us
of the frailty of life and how precious our lives are.

Sometimes God just is not ready,
to accept another disciple,
and for that I am grateful, blessing every morning
that David who is a son, father, brother...
my lover, still walks among us.
Giving his thanks to the angel that sat on his shoulder
the night the doctors said,
no life,
no hope.