Room Fourteen: A Companion

A room has four walls.

It’s a holding space,

A hiding place,

A sanctuary.

Many things can happen in a room.

Death, for instance.

In room fourteen there was death,

Yes.

I’m sure the walls had witnessed it before.

But on this day they observed so much more:

There was Love,

Laughter,

Support,

Breathing.

There was Singing.

I was there. I heard it.

That room, its walls, guarded a Landslide of emotions…

Sympathy,

Fear,

Sadness.

But also Joy.

I was there. I felt it.

There was remembering happier times.

There was letting go.

There was surviving.

There was darkness…

But also sunshine.

In room fourteen there was death,

Yes.

There was stillness

If not quiet.

But there was also life,

And release;

A gentle fading away.

I was there. I saw him 

As he soared toward San Antone.

Room 14

Ragged breath. Gasps fill the quiet room. 

The breathing stops. No sound. Silence. 

Inhale. 

Relief. 

His sentinels sit. We watch. We listen.

A melody sings out easy. A husband, to his love.

“The landslide will bring it down.”

The dread is heavy, the uncertainty thick.

There is no hope. But there is love.

Visible. 

Abundant. 

Resignation hovers. The inevitable approaches. 

Peace will come, leaving sadness in its wake. 

When tethered no more, this will be the down.

Remember.

Now soar.

©️Michael Rohrer

July 29, 2020