Waiting. Poem by Margery Rehman

Life hangs in a vacuum.
Hesitant to plan anything
Go to town, invite friends to dropp in,
We get on with our tedious routine
While, full of selfish concerns,
We pray it does not happen
At too inconvenient a time.

We've been waiting for weeks
To hear it's over, his fight
Being waged to stay alive
Just one more day, one more night.
He's not someone we've been close to,
Or even very much liked,
But he is family, part of the clan.

Why does he have to struggle so?
For inevitably he will lose.
It's a matter of time the doctors say
While sedating him once again.
He's very old, the disease won't go.
There's nothing we can do for him
To mitigate the pain.

But getting on with everyday things
Is hard; listening for the phone,
Waiting for that fateful ring
His death knell; our relief.