Your love has grown to entwine my flesh penetrating every space,

Unknown to you I have allowed every pore to accept root in each place,

If I’m a little slow be patient with me I’ve endured a lot in this frame,

Touch me please it just takes a little bit to make me say your name,

Just a little bit of your love will bring a smile and make me glow,

It’s been so long that I’ve endured life’s pain I’ve become a bit slow,

I will fly like a moth to the flame if you are anywhere within my smell,

It’s a poem he recites for her, let’s ask him of her maybe he will tell,

The shuffle of his walk is bent and slow but deliberate in his walk,

Just a little bit of you will bring him to his feet and he’ll even talk,

Watch the old man cry if you mention his wife whose gone away,

The only road he is walking is the one way road to her one day,

He lost the shine in his eyes long ago although he managed to survive,

More than that is lost but he has found a way to pray and to stay alive,

Too many teardrops on a flame will put it out but from love it will still smoke,

Watch the smoke ignite by saying the name of she he so fondly spoke,

“How’d you meet that girl old man?” His eyes will sparkle as if he’s there,

He will tell you of a night long ago when he saw the girl with flowing hair,

And he will cry for her as he tells you of the night he left her for the war,

Did he tell you she was thirteen when love took him through heaven’s door,

“Hearts will never break,” he says, “when love is true, only separation breaks”,

If he is feeling strong he will tell you the story of how much a real man takes,

Of the enemy’s torturous ways or how he survived thinking of his future wife,

“To be away from her is lifeless,” he says, “you may live but it’s not a real life,”

“I’d endure anything to be with her and for sixty years I paid the price,”

“For sixty five years I loved that little girl although in pain, I’d do it twice,”

“For but a minute more I said, just give me a minute more of her touch,”

“And now it’s true, I’m paying the dues for the minute I needed so much,”

“As she slipped through my fingers I begged just one minute more,”

“It was granted to be as angels escorted me and her to heaven’s door,”

“Then a minute later I woke free of pain but my heart was breaking in two,”

“The dues I paid to be with her was the pain I endured but Angel I did it for you,”

As he looks to heaven it’s easy to realize he is happy with his choice,

How old are you old man, they say you’ve set records, then tears fill his voice,

“I’m the oldest man on this earth and I’ve set records beyond written time,”

“Minus a day one hundred eighty two,” he says as if it’s from a love rhyme,

“A billion tears I’ve cried each day for her,” as if a verse from a love song,

How long do you hope to live, sir? Why a billion tears if she’s dead so long?

“Son, I know exactly how long I will live, you see, my angel died on my birthday,”

“It was one hundred years minus a day that the Angels took my angel away,”

“For that minute more I prayed for that day, I offered one hundred years to pray,”

“And I have prayed, each day I have prayed prayers of thanks for that minute that day,”

“Tomorrow is my birthday and I’ll pass away, it will be my turn to enter heaven’s door,”

“For a hundred years I’ve given thanks for that minute, tomorrow I’ll see the one I adore.”

The end, the price I’m willing to pay.  For Patti.  I love you baby.