Smiles remain

Gentle cracks appear on the smile plastered on your face
Your eyes now so dull, yet once so beautifully bright
The shaking in your hands at the simplest tasks
The tears as at last you are losing the fight

Tears slide down your face, staining the make up
Where once the laughter echoed throughout the land
Sadness resonates, a dull yet constant fear
As the disease takes hold we start to understand

The weariness overcomes you, earlier and earlier
And the stairs are an obstacle to difficult for you
Unable to do anything on your own, scarring your pride
As you are wheeled away we know death approaches soon

Terrified of passing into the real world
As you hide away in the house to ashamed to be seen
Being avoided in the street as the illness is visible
Pretending not to notice what these things mean

So we while away the hours not speaking of the future
But of memories lost in the depths of our minds
All the happy times marred by deaths bitter touch
The old happiness once eager now so hard to find

Soft tones resonate on the other end of the receiver
Bad news becomes more frequent as the disease sinks in
Agony every day and night for a broken soul
When you go, will we carry on? where do we begin?

Regrets already clear, wishes remain unforfilled
And hours trickle away the last days of your life
Smiles remain as we try to enjoy the precious time
Yet these months have been scarred with pain and strife