Always did

A Poem by Aadhya Kumar

She squeezed his hand as the room darkened, as she her mind darkened
She always feared the absence of light as the dark was always so full
His hand gripped hers weakly. The darkness taking him felt different.
Instead of filling his mind and racing his heart, it was telling him to sleep
Like the first warmth after the cold, it filled him with a sense of completion.
He wanted the dark to take him but he needed her more as he always did.

He smiled up to her shadow as she looked wildly across the room. She could feel him watching as she always did.
She could always know his face even in the dark. She knew he was watching with love and worry.
Looking down in the dark at where is face should be, she reached out and touched his cheek.
He leaned into her hand as her touch fuelled him as it always did.

She leaned toward him and put her forehead against his and the fear fell away.
The darkness in the dark lost all its power.
The room transformed and it was just another room without light.
He could feel her warmth, she could feel his cold.
Words were passed with movement and feeling.
They spoke with the language of experience that only the passage of time could create.
They said goodbye.
He let the dark cover him in its warmth and he fell asleep.
She turned on the light and left the room
Stronger for having been with him as she always did.