Love Poem: A Cry From a Broken Heart
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Written by: Joyce Johnson

A Cry From a Broken Heart

A broken heart can happen
to anyone at any age.
Mine came just when our lives were poised
to turn another page.
Twenty years of love and marriage
with three children almost grown.
We were looking forward to a life
with the two of us alone.

We had planned a short vacation
without a single child in tow.
Though invited they had plans with friends 
and didn’t want to go.
We would celebrate the 4th with them
and my birthday seven-seven.
Our July anniversary was coming, 
anticipation was a given.

The morning of July 4th he brought
my coffee to my bed.
I was off to work for a few hours.
“Hurry home,” was all he said.
I was finishing up the bookwork,
without a single worry.
The phone rang. I thought it would be he,
just urging me to hurry. 

His friend had made the phone call
and he wouldn’t tell me why.
He said I must come to the hospital,
hung up the phone without goodbye.
A doctor was waiting for me
to tell me my love was dead.
My head spun and I fainted
without hearing all he said.

I don’t know why God took him
just before our holiday
or why my love was buried on 
my forty-fourth birthday.
A lifetime of loving dreams condensed
to brief report in this short  rhyme.
That’s how I know a broken heart
can come at any age or time.