Author: C. Lawrence 

The Wave to Life

She lay silent for twelve days

No movement, so quiet, so still

Despair from her doctor’s words

Brain had electricity, but scrambled

Day by day I stayed by her side

Talking softly, touching, waiting

Doctor held out little hope

I blocked his words and prayed

Music, her granddaughter’s voice

Taped and played close to her ear

Hour by hour, the body monitors droned

No sense of time passing

Finally restless leg movement

Then a flailing of her arms

No open eyes, nor moving lips

Disconnect from brain, no hope

Routine each day precisely the same

Enter ICU and wash at sink

Her bed faces sink thirty feet away

She, propped up to clear lungs

Hope clung to me even still

Did I see movement again?

Was it connected and intentional?

Did I really see her wave?

Yes! As our faces touched and

Slowly she whispered my name

I knew it was her wave back to life.