Footsteps

Poem about a Guardian Angel

Footsteps.
That's all I heard as I watched him walk away.
The girl standing next to me,
Her form shaking with sobs.
One might not understand why he left.
But it happened.
There's not much you can do.
As she looked down at the overgrown grass
She carefully put her ring on the ground.
All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her
But I couldn't.
How could I just stand there?
And do nothing?
I look over at him,
Our eyes meet before he walks toward her.
He looks at her stained face.
He wants to hold her,
Comfort her,
But what can he do?
As he reaches her
He sees the barrier between them.
He bends down to carefully pick up the ring
And realizes he can't get up.
The ring in his hand disappears as his fingers close over it.
He's staring at his fist as she brings her hand to her lips
And then touches the grave.
He watches her as her hand passes through him.
He wants to cry,
But the tears won't come.
He screams,
The sound ricocheting through the sky.
She walks away
Failing to not look back.

Soft, even breathing.
That's all I hear as I sit at her bedside.
I watch as her eyes slowly flutter open.
She gets up and walks right through me to the window
And carefully rests her head against the glass.
I watch as he walks into the room
And stands behind her,
Breathing in her scent.
He clasps a chain around her neck
And plants a soft kiss where the chain rests on the base of her neck.
He softly tells her he loves her before he walks out.
She is oblivious to what happened.
She places her hand over her heart trying to calm it down
And feels something cold.
Her hand instinctively closes around the chain
As she pulls it into eye view.
On it rests her ring,
The one she received long ago
But left only days before.
Silent tears slide down her cheeks.
Her smile is faint,
But it's real.

Written December 2008
By Elisse Cook