The body has become its own refrain,

a silent roll call ticking off each night,

no more the vagaries of loss and gain.
The family visits, dress-rehearsing pain.

Let go they whisper nothing more to fight.

The body has become its own refrain.
Relinquished – ego’s hold on pride and shame,

the loosened tongue holds court from fancied heights.

No more the vagaries of loss and gain.
Hold the hand, stroke the face, speak sweet the name.

All accusations moot, all wrongs put right.

The body has become its own refrain.
What passed for love once now cannot be feigned,

all hearts aligned, familial threads pulled tight.

No more the vagaries of loss and gain.
Let time select the picture and its frame;

today the shadow dances with the light.

The body has become its own refrain,

no more the vagaries of loss and gain.