What right have I
To bid you stay?
How cruel my will,
Longing for you to remain?
Surely, if any deserved the peace
And freedom of Heaven,
It is you.
Why should I be so selfish;
Demanding, in my heart,
That God let you live?
For, truly, you would not Live
If you stayed;
Your body worn and battered
By the evils of so unbiased a disease.
It does not care that you are yet young,
But has ravished your being beyond care.
Why do I still cling to the hope
That our Lord will give you unto me?
How wretched my heart can be!
How contemptible and self-serving my mind!
My Spirit rejoices for
And is envious of you;
That you shall meet our King
And walk free of pain and heartache.
And yet I cannot help but feel anguish
At the thought of losing you.
Do not think ill of me,
I pray.
But think of me and know
That I shall hold you
In my heart,
With the deepest fondness,
Until I have breathed my last.

Author's note: Written in 2014, as a private "letter" to one whom I loved