When I looked upon
your once beautiful body
I was shocked
almost instantly it seems
it became
like an egyptian mummy
yellow and withered
an empty shell

Somehow that made it
a bit easier
knowing for certain your spirit
was indeed gone

There are days now
when I feel like an empty shell
other days
I am filled with your spirit
I long to hear you
touch you
argue with you
and have you beat the pants off of me
in scrabble even with brain tumors

I beg to hear your crazy rantings
I shut off before
little do we know how much
someone impacts our lives
until they are no longer
a physical part of it
I knew there was love
never guessing how much
until it was gone

The shell of who you once were
is buried on my retina
the spirit of whom you have become
is branded on my heart

Love, Mom