The smoky memory of this afternoon

will live forever in my spirit.

I sat in the wheelchair, wrapped

in fallen leaves and drifts of sleep,

while you kneeled in the mellow sun

to plant bulbs of tulip and snowdrop.

Remember how much I love you.

Your warm eyes are daylight.

Your brave smile is summer

and your hair, my golden autumn.

We are together now but eventually,

you know, we’ll walk into winter alone.

You are already closer to the earth.

You always were. Remember:

stay close.

Hold tight through the long night

and, when the snow has melted

my shroud, your tulips and snowdrops

will renew the spring in your step.

And always remember

how much I love you.