Tia Molly

I kissed two fingers  
and then
pressed them 
upon her 
cold
surprisingly smooth
forehead
my boys
kneeling beside me
kept quiet
no one told them to
they seemed
to gather 
the gravity of grief
all on their own

I didn't expect the tears
she and I weren't close
yet
there I was

crying

the heaviness
pervaded my being
I knew
immediately
I was heartbroken
for the ones
she left behind
friends
children
but mostly
her sisters...
just as tiny and frail
just as angry 
just as hopeful
just as loved
just as stubborn
in the face 
of lives 
which never came easy

I sobbed.

Here it was.
Mortality.

the blinding awareness
of my warm
two fingers
pulsing
while
pressed against
her cold
and surprisingly smooth
forehead