Close To Acceptance Poem by Bill Galvin

My love, my wife…
Home now for so many months…
Laboring with a slowly diminishing Life-force
Since insidious ALS began its treacherous scheme
To draw you inexorably away from us.

You hold it away at arm's length
With a dignity that was always your hallmark;
With a bravery others can admire;
With a praiseworthy candor;
With a ………
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The above incomplete poem was begun at 1am,2-11-2015.
The subject was to be about the realization that Deb's end was near,
And I was close to being ready to accept it,
But I still had to stay working hard to keep it at bay,
As she had for so long.

Then Deb became weaker during the day,
And passed on 2-11-2015 at 9: 55pm ET.

Her last hours were spent listening to our favorite music.
I told her that if she went before me
She would remain on the seat next to me as copilot and navigator;
And I asked her if she would be my guardian angel…
She blinked "Yes" with her eyes,
Too weak to answer with raised eyebrows as usual.
I read her some of my poetry dedicated to our journey together.
I showed her pages of photos of our life together from our website.
She sobbed when she saw pictures of herself as a young lady.

She calmed after I opened our wedding page.
I told her I had just added the music she had selected for our wedding
Which made the page complete.
Pachelbel Canon in D Major began playing
As the slideshow of wedding pictures from 1983 rolled.
I was still holding her left hand in my right under the covers
As she lay on her left side
And I sat next to her bed with laptop on bedside table.

A few seconds in, she weakly smiles and looks up at me.
I am looking at the screen and narrating.

A few seconds later, I look back at her.

She has gracefully left her tortured body and returned to her God.

Peace has returned to her soul.

I weep loudly into her ear, cradling her head gently…
"Baby, I am sorry to cry so… you must go and be free.
I cry because I love you so much and will miss you terribly.
But I understand, Baby."

I kiss her cold lips and caress her cool cheeks.
"Sweet dreams, Honey-Pie… till we meet again."

I pray over her still body,
"Lord, you have gotten a good one… one of the best.
I do know that she is now getting the best care possible,
And has finally found relief from her mortal imprisonment."

Deep down inside me, beyond the agony of despair,
I know that she is better off,
And so is the world she knew,
For everyone she touched was enriched.

As my Traveling Companion, we took our one last trip together;
Not one we wanted to take, nor at a time of our choosing,
But a journey we had to make, as the loving partners we were
To the very end…

Some day I will understand better
How truly wonderful the ending was for us both.


Bill Galvin 2-14-2015