She sits peacefully in a navy blue wheelchair,
Legs splayed, feet resting on plastic blue squares.
From her patchy head trickles a thin braid of grey hair
Every wrinkle, every sag, displays a life, unfair.

She strides with confidence in a rippling navy skirt,
The silky fabric billowing with a grace far from inert,
She flicks her thick, black locks with a smiling flirt,
Shining molten chocolate eyes, incessantly alert.

In her folded, leathery hands, she holds a paper slip
It’s crinkled like her fingers where she presses it to her hip
Slowly, her clenched fist relaxes its trembling grip
And it flutters to the tile floor beneath her IV drip.

He slips it onto her finger–long, smooth, and slender
A glittering sapphire ring with elegance and splendor
He takes her supple hand into his own, strong yet tender,
With the clearest, deepest intention always to defend her.

Her large brown eyes are sunk behind the folds of age
But still within them is a fire that can never be assuaged
And with all the strength and willpower she can engage
Her arms push into the wheelchair with a huff of her rib-cage.

As her waist grows in a burgeon of new life,
His broad, strong shoulders shrink in an augment of strife
As if from within he is carved with a knife
He fights not to leave his unborn child, his wife.

The chair wobbles dangerously as she straightens her arms
Pushing herself up to her own unforgiving alarm
The IV drip teeters and shakes, a potential for harm,
But as she works, she smiles–her old face redolent of charm.

Almond eyes meet their like on a tiny, soft head
Which stare fixedly at her from where he wriggles in his bed
But his bones and his cheeks are thick–like lead
The only remainder of a father, now dead.

Her arms shake as she heaves with all her might
Her elbows quake violently with the effort of her fight
With heavy, wheezing breaths she sets her legs upright
In her eyes a fervent passion, laden with light.

In her head, the words are etched like a song
Even though I must pass, you have to stay strong
Never succumb–your health please prolong
Conquer the pain, for the both of us lifelong.

The crumpled slip sings wistfully from its place on the floor
Her failing body emits a pain she cannot ignore
But with a final reminder of the oath that she once swore
She stands tall for a proud moment, with the strength of before.