The Buck and Molly

i never understood their love
or at least not hers

the Buck was a traditional man
and he rarely acknowledged a need
for his wife
for his Molly
macho but never mean or cruel
he was bossy
occasionally rude
and never for the life of me
did i understand
her patience
her love

once only i’ve seen and understood
the depth of his love for her
of his need
of his fear
she had fainted
his Molly was unconscious
and the panic in his eyes
the tenderness in the way he lifted her
delicately
preciously
from the floor
the worry as he paced the hospital room
painted the picture
and i understood
the Buck loved Molly

but still I never understood her love
her patience
her constancy
her endurance
the Buck my grandfather
is a good man
but it takes a tragedy

now he was in the hospital
the surgery was routine
went excellent
and he should have recovered quickly
strong as the Buck was
but he is a baby
and we all knew it

at 78 his Molly stayed with him three nights
rested her senior bones
on a hospital couch
because he needed her
was afraid
and she
his Molly
was patient

I never understood her love for him
her patience
her constancy
her endurance
her kindness

as he sat up in bed one day
his sock fell
and the surgery had made him helpless
she knelt gracefully
humbly
lovingly
and slid it gently onto his foot
there were nurses to do that sort of thing
but her love knew no bounds
knows no limitations
55 years she nursed him
cared for him
loved him
and the modern world
the modern idea of love could not change her
would not change
her love