To say goodbye

Wind driven snow paints
the city with a wide brush,
beneath a multitude of wheels
the pure white turns to slush.

Sky is gray and foreboding
poor souls waiting for the bus
heavy coats fight the chill
old man winter has come for us.

Through the hospital doors
hallways bustle with energy
some are here to heal the ill
others came to visit, like me.

A maze of endless corridors,
elevators lead to unknown places
room filled with visiting family
finally finding some familiar faces.

Bittersweet is the joy in seeing
the sullen face of a man I know,
for a lifetime of hard drinking
has stolen that former glow.

His eyes light up at the first sight
of his sister, who weeps for her brother,
I'm filled with the sadness of this scene
for you see, his sister is my mother.

Large flakes of snow fall silently
outside the windows of his room
a frigid view of concrete and steel
he feels as though he's in a tomb.