Maybe there was a little blip of a heartbeat.
Perhaps there was a small breath of air.
Maybe it would have gone differently if I hadn’t just stood there.
She might still be alive today –
Probably not.

Grief is such a strange thing –
You can’t help but replay it in your mind.
Think about what you could have done differently.
What could have been, but will never be.

I remember the room she was in –
All the machines and wires that were attached to her.
I remember the distinct chemical smell of that hospital room.
There was a tall window stretching to the ceiling beside her bed overlooking the river.

Maybe if there had been a heartbeat, it was for us.
Perhaps it wasn’t a sign of life, but a sign of her love,
The love that she was leaving behind for us.
That one final beat was her goodbye.