Ralph Greenberg wrote this poem as Ann McGovern lay dying after she realized she could not win the battle against the cancer in her brain. She lived her life fully and he stayed with her and her family until the end.

Ralph and Annie met in online dating site in the third part of their lives and their relationship proved that you can find love at a great companion at any age.

by Ralph Greenberg

                            Annie

 

To see the life of one you love just slowly slip away,

Not by nature’s final call or a dream that’s gone astray,

Not by malice, not by greed, not by war or other deed,

But by her wish to keep control, to ring the bell and make it toll.

 

It’s very hard for me to watch the process that unfolds,

That slowly dims the light I knew and wish I still could hold,

The pain is real, the pain persists, the pain that won’t let go,

I can’t resist or shake my fist, I’m caught up in the flow.

 

It’s said time heals, it all will end, this too shall pass away,

I hope not all of this is true, that a part of it will stay,

The part that keeps the glow alive of the Annie that I’ve known,

The Annie that was full of life and made it all her own.