Illuminated Places - Martha Ellen

poem read by Timothy Arliss OBrien

Illuminated Places
Martha Ellen
published in Clatsop Community College
RAIN magazine   

The night she died 

I had a dream.

I saw her walking 

in a pleasant landscape

on an uphill footpath

toward an illuminated place.

Her back was to me.

She turned and saw me 

watching her leave 

for the last time.

Thrilled to see me,

she smiled and

waved with the familiar 

excited anticipation 

I had seen so many times before

when I arrived

at her sheltered home

and we would go for coffee.

There were days I thought

this a chore, a boring task

that subtracted

from my important life.

But, in that moment, 

in her joyful smile, clarity.

She knew I feared 

to carry on without her.

“You will be OK. 

I will wait here for you.”

Everyone had believed

I was the stronger sister.

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