Gently you hatched me from my toughened shell,
Into the nest of your accepting love.
You countered my fear with ‘all will be well’,
And raised my head to see the skies above.
You talked of soaring when I feared the fall
And helped me to dream of my own first flight.
You preened me and my fledgling wings withal,
Tended my darkness with your quenchless light.
Never satisfied til I spread my wings,
You comforted me out on to the edge,
All the time secretly cutting my strings.
O, how silently you fulfilled your pledge
To honour and protect me til I grew;
Then with a jump you showed me how one flew.
Written on Tuesday 10th July 2018, reflecting on what my wife had done for me in preparation for her death.