Let me wrap, and wrap, and wrap this pain.
Let me bind it tightly to stop the bleeding
that is no longer. Let me anoint this agony
with frankincense and myrrh. Let me wash
the grit from the wounds so that suffering
does not soil the interment, the goodbye,
the letting go, the walking away, the end.
Do not fault me extra linens or quiet space;
there is no return to the joy that once was.
Carry on and in a while I will follow, but
for now death has my time and attention.
