Five More Minutes

The Compassionate Friends web site posed a question a few months ago that immediately made me cry.  The question was, What would you do if you could have five more minutes with your child who has died?  I wrote this poem thinking about this question.

If I could have five more minutes with my son who died,
I’d be so ecstatic that he was alive,
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” I’d say,
And how much he is missed each day.

I would hold him in a tight embrace,
While looking at his beloved face,
Telling him how thankful I am to have been his mother,
And for every moment we spent together.

I’d say how proud I was of him,
And that it means the world seeing him again,
Only five minutes, such a brief time,
But the possibility would be a lifeline.

I know I’d be crying continuous tears,
Overwhelmed that he could once more be here,
Knowing there were only minutes until he’d have to depart,
Would be a bittersweet agony in my heart.

If only this could be true,
And time could be something new,
Love can’t be measured by hours or minutes,
But there’s a hole in my life without him in it.