My Deepest Condolences

No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow. ~Euripides

I got a call early this morning.
An acquaintance died last night... the man a dear friend loved.
Worry gripped me. I lay speechless, breathless.

I knew him.
He was her whole world, as much as she had been his...


Another cheat.
Time has stolen life once again. Time was unforgiving once again.
Time is lost, and so is another life.

I fear I might fall short as a friend this time and fail her.
I know not what to say, lest what to feel even.
Neither sympathy nor sorrow came to visit my senses for her loss,
only a longing... for her yesterday to return,
a yesterday that should only remain in both our memories from this day forward.

And so as I woke up this morning,
I whispered a prayer far different from my own.
With my eyes closed, my mind hummed a lullabye
for a dear friend and her loss,
for a good man who was lost,
for a firm faith to endure,
for a forgiving time to assure,
for a life lived anew.

And then a tear fell...
Alas, I may not have failed her afterall.