Chapel of Rest - Janinka Diverio

You lay, I sat
Whilst summer sun melted
Yet we were cool inside
Where we’d been sent to hide

I talked and talked
Shed a tear or two
In-between handshaking
And watching people watching you

They came, they stared, they cried, they left
Some came in peace, most were bereft
The thick stone walls offered shelter and shade
Whilst you, untouchable, were out laid

Your eyes asleep, your lashes still long
Your life spread before me, like a song
Your body flat, still, just a shell
Where had you gone, this man who knew me so well

Your skin was pallid, soft and clean
Your lips still full, yet your cheeks unseen
Sunken and gaunt in a body caved in
Smart and well-presented, still in your skin

Your eyes couldn’t open, they were stitched closed
Your arms outstretched, but a hand I couldn’t hold
Sweet Mary above us, dressed in blue
As tainted glass reflected you

Three days, two nights
I was only twenty-one
Seems like yesterday
They told me that you’d gone

Janinka Diverio