Found another lump today
bursting forth in her crippling body.
She bows her head as she walks,
unable to explain her pain.

As each new day arrives, I ask if it will be her last.
Her breathing is heavy, her eyes tick
like the bomb in her chest.

Medicated as she walks, swaying back and forth
against the walls down the never-ending halls.
She is a Ping-Pong ball waiting for the last error.
Her body gradually transforms to snow,
and her limbs tremble with chills.

She looks at me, and I see behind those beautiful spheres.
She is still there, that faithful lady of strength.
Fighting against her odds, trying to conquer the ache.

Her lifetime is promised short— but I cannot accept that she will soon
disappear. When she is no longer wagging, I will look back into her eyes.
She will tell me when
I can let her go.

That choice is something no companion wants to make,
but she won’t leave me to decide alone,
and I won’t leave her to die alone.