Cause of Death
Only young lovers can have broken hearts,
wounded, but still retaining the possibility for healing, wholeness.
Those whose love matures over decades
physically grow together despite the illusion of separateness.
Sophisticated science could reveal what some already know –
that losing the love of your life at a ripe old age
doesn’t just break your heart,
it rips half of it out of your chest,
along with a lung and most of your guts.
It’s amazing that you’re still alive
or more precisely,
that your dying can progress so slowly.