Darting and blue:
                       Vigorous.

Weak-necked and heavy-headed,
            “Stop mourning!” her pride choked,
            Gasping for breath:
                        Combative.

            By tubes and tests, prayers and will,
            Pillow-propped up:
                        Bionic.
 
Bruised and scabbed, body failing,
            Limbs puffy and empretzeled,
            Her wits in waves:
                        Acerbic.

            To others, winged and unseen
            To us, again:
                        Accepting.

Unimagined will,
Inerrant beauty, then
                        Transforming.
 
Sallow, sunken cheeks arose,
Enduring scars of age retreated,
Cracked alabaster creases ‘came porcelain,
Drooped lips entersed,
Placqued teeth bared,
Nostrils filled,
Body wholed,

            A wife’s smile,
            A mother’s smile,
            A child’s smile.
 
The sun of life emerged, burst forth,
            The perfect, room-blinding smile,
            Hydrangea-like:
                        Blooming still