I Don’t Want To Leave You

I Don’t Want to Leave You 

When you look at the person you love, knowing their time is limited, you try to appreciate every moment you have with them. However, at the same time, you wonder if today is the last day. 

As their panic rises, you feel helpless as their tears flow. You want to help them, but sometimes you just can’t. You’re helplessly begging, pleading for someone to come in and calm them. Fear burns inside you that their panic may cause another heart attack, especially as they clench at their chest. Tears in their eyes, falling down their cheeks, and all you can do is stroke their head and try to tell them to breathe. 

Sure, for the average person, a panic attack isn’t life or death, but this time it could be just that. 

You try to tell them to breathe, to calm down, and they look at you and grasp your hand and say, “I don’t want to leave you.” Your heartbreaking as you try to sooth, calling for help again. Finally, an injection sooths and calms the demons of their mind; they find stillness and peace. The reaper circling the room won’t be paid tonight.

Their words linger as you drive down the road, and you’re thankful when you reach out to someone, and they answer. They understand your pain; they know what you’re going through. While their words soothe you for that moment, you still hear the words of your loved one rattling in your head. “I don’t want to leave you.”

9/25/2019

©2019 D. M. Needom