Being There In The End

Experiencing release when someone no longer suffers.

Release, acrylic on canvas by artist Michelle Lindblom

My heart

prompted my presence.

Intuition guided me

toward a friend

in need of another spirit.

I entered an otherwordly realm

of serenity.

Hospice.

An ethereal

sense of calm

in the aura of imminent death

came over me.

A soft-spoken gentleness

saturated the environment.

My friend’s partner

was fading quickly.

No time left, but to linger

until the end.

His fight was heart-wrenching

and there was little

left to give.

Labored, raspy breaths

indicated how hard

he fought the desire to live

or to be released.

We continued to talk

outside his room.

Listening for sounds of life