He slid himself into her grave
And whispered in her ear, the words
Coming in a raspy voice
Moving her to tears

~

Lying still beneath the earth
In a bed of broken dreams, she felt
Him lay down there beside her
As Death crawled in between

His ragged breath, long and rough,
Would chill her every bone when she
Felt his lips press to her skin,
As cold, now, as her own

Her mind alive with terror,
Her eyes open to the dark, she prayed
That Fate might somehow foil
Death's claim upon his heart

She listened as his soul cried
Of his longing and his pain and tried
To part her lips to say
That she had known the same

In her grave, where she had lain
For so many years alone, she would
Wait however long it took
For her lover to come home

She tried again to speak to him
So that he would understand, but he
Placed his hand over her mouth
And continued with his plan

And as he fell still beside her,
Her mind replayed the words that he
Whispered softly in her ear when
He laid down next to her

“ Maria, I've miss you so,”
He’d said first in quiet voice and she
Knew his love had not abated
When he said, “I have no choice”

His final words, as he let go,
Had been the ones to make her cry, for he
He gave himself to Death and her with…