Last Look

Look... at... me...

A single smear of scarlet streaks your face,

But I honor you and look past it,

Past the vivid cerise of death's sanguinary display,

Past the violent quiver wracking those colorless lips,

And the stark expanse of ghostly, wan skin.

I ignore the ungodly sounds of desperate, heaving breaths,

Those wet, gurgling gasps groping for a mere thread of life,

And I disregard the acrid stench of blood,

Sickeningly saccharine and wretchedly pungent.

Instead, I look into pools of deepest black,

Frigid depths of coldest midnight,

Usually so bitter, unyielding,

But not tonight.

Burning with the waning embers of pain and regret,

They pierce me,

And I let them.

For this is our finality,

Our concluding coda,

An ending to our miserable dance,

Born from misunderstanding,

And opportunities lost.

So I look at you,

Into you,

Through you,

Green into black,

Hope into loss,

Faith into desolation,

Life into death,

And I cry for you.

For I know that this look,

This beautiful moment of truth,

Is our first,

And our last.

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A/N: I'm sorry for the dark, depressing nature of this poem, but it couldn't be helped.

This afternoon, my husband and I were stunned to learn of the passing of a very dear cousin who suffered a massive heart attack. He was only forty-eight years old and was married with two children – one a senior in high school, the other a sophomore in college. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and they had been together since they were fifteen years old. Needless to say, she is devastated. Our whole family is taking it very hard, myself included. He was a wonderful person with so much to live for.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself tonight, so I decided to do what I always do when my emotions are all over the place – write. It didn't take my burdened mind long to drift toward that moment in book seven when Harry and Severus stare into each other's eyes while the latter clings to life. I have always considered that moment the saddest in the entire series. So many lost opportunities... so many things unsaid... so much regret.

The poem just kind of wrote itself – my way of expressing my own grief. No beta, obviously. So if you find any mistakes or odd phrasing, that's OK with me. Review or don't review. It's fine with me either way. Just please do me a favor... hug your loved ones. Tell them you love them. Don't leave room for regret. Life is too short.