And in the night I plotted how I’d cheat dark death
  take you away in covered car, a change of names,
  no english, spanish, all that made us known 
  hidden away, hidden away, until all danger past
  we could return again to live just one more day,
  just one more blessed day

     
  hour followed hour; I breathed breath after breath
  with you, cleaned spit away and fed you pieces
  of the sweetest apricot and watched you chew and swallow, 
  and made up healing teas and fed you drop by drop and kissed
  your brow and cooled your sweating head and kissed and kissed
  and prayed, and pleaded and cajoled, 
  and called upon this power of heav’n and that
  and sang and kissed, was strong and weak

     
  you’d given me permission that dark night 
  when I lay down upon your hospital bed
  to sob, to cry, you’d with great difficulty
  and with waning strength
  put down my head upon your loved emaciated arm
  and kissed my hair, and said your heart was breaking 
  because there were yet so many things 
  we had to share,
  so many sunsets, morning birdsong, love and love and love
  in autumn winter spring

     
  and now this summer day
  your precious body cooling on our marriage bed
  covered in marriage quilt
  covered in marriage tears
  in jagged widow’s tears

     
  oh what a dreaded word, this widow’s name
  now widowed
  where I once was bride,
  how will I sleep or smile or look with favor
  on a sun that dares to shine
  how will I live without your breath
  on mine