She went on ahead of me. 

‘How terrible it is to love 
something that death can touch.’ 

Down in the dell the 
crickets still scream 
and the air still hums with heat. 
Her perfume sits open 
on her dresser 
and on her pillow 
a strand of hair. 

I wish my world would end, 
for what am I without her? 

Oh God, take my life tonight! 
What use have you for an old man 
who has buried 
all his friends and now his wife? 
And I’m battling to do as David sang: 
"But I [bad word] in you, O Lord; 
I say, ‘You are my God’. 
My times are in your hands." 

If my times are in your hands, 
then grant me mercy, 
bring me peace. 

Lacrimosa.