She Wasn't There

She wasn’t there for the meeting,

The rivalry.

The unity.

The jokes.

The stories.

The creation.

The process.

The journey.

The discoveries.

The adventures.

The laughter.

The joy.

I was there, with you, beside you all the way, sharing the highs and lows, marveling at you, supporting you, sharing the burden, pulling at the yoke right beside you.

She wasn’t there for the hard times,

The dark times.

The struggle.

The cold.

The work.

The sacrifice.

The pain.

The fights.

The tears.

The loss.

She wasn’t there, until very recently, swooping in like an owl in the darkness before dawn, talons 

sinking in slowly but surely, tearing away life from flesh, but I always was.

She wasn’t there.

Until now.

But now, neither are you.