Simply Present

She sleeps in the quiet of a church, 

front and center, under a candle.

The Psalms are droning on in a 

place just behind her head in the dark.

Friends float in and out all through 

the night to keep her company.

They stand silent, simply present, 

and then bow to kiss her cold hand.

Look, they say inside their heads, she’s 

wearing her knit cap snug in her bed.

Will I pass so peacefully and be cared

for so sweetly when my time comes?

***