I made a vow of care upon the day we wed,
and sickness did not give me pause a single time.
The ambulance has come but Juliet lies dead.

She wore her smile that first day when we met, her tread
on stairs I climbed. We stepped into our future time.
I made a vow of care upon the day we wed.

Eleven months since our first date I sat, in dread
that surgery would steal her, love dissolved in lime
No ambulance then came. But Juliet lies dead.

With eyes full wide, I married her, but hoped ahead
for health. "let two be one" would be our paradigm,
and made a vow of care upon the day we wed.

No matter what I crave, "til death" is ours instead,
The song our lives entwined is now a broken rhyme.
The ambulance has come, and Juliet lies dead.

I had no right to forty years and four, now fled
beyond my grasp, but still, I live her love sublime.
I made that vow of care upon the day we wed:
The ambulance has gone, where Juliet lies dead.
 

                                   13 May 2024