End Notes
Waiting
By Margaret A. Meyer
We staked out a corner
knowing how waiting feels,
our vision unobscured
waiting, waiting
for our surgeon to come
and tell us everything was OK.
The designated time came and went.
Anxiety turned to dread, as I
saw you walk through the door
with news of a
failed attempt.
Your face gave you away.
I knew
everything was wrong.
Your words failed to still
the beating of my heart
as I struggled to comprehend
what lay ahead.
Hours stretched to an eternity
until you walked through
that door a second time
with words that pierced our
hearts and rocked us with grief
so deep and painful we
filled the room with our
anguished cries.
I remember your words,
“Be strong for your daughters”
but I felt so weak, so lost,
so afraid, so helpless
until you held me in your
arms and let me cry for
the loss of our daddy,
my everything.
Encased in memory are
hours of waiting, waiting,
the dread, anxiety, fear,
anguish, and your arms
of comfort encircling
me.
Margaret Meyer is a parent educator in Stillwater. She dedicates this poem to cardiologist Kim M. Loria, M.D.