The sheets were beige like sand,

A tube like a snake winding

Up and into my arm.

Alone in the ward.

I don’t cry,

Scratch that.

I try not to cry.

Jane wouldn’t cry.

I can still

See her lying there,

On the bed,

Next to mine.

Coughing.

Thinking.

Smiling.

Never crying.

Telling me her dreams,

Diamond castles

And silk dresses,

And how she was queen for a day.

Jane would ask

Whether I had any dreams,

But I would shake my head,

“My mind is not as beautiful as yours.”

And she laughed and coughed,

Her vibrant

Cerulean eyes

Seemed to be laughing too.

We held hands for hours

And she tells me that once

We leave this place,

We’ll meet again on the other side.

But at night

The coughing stops,

And those cerulean eyes

Stop laughing.

They removed Jane’s empty bed,

And tell me she,

Left us for a better

Place where all her dreams come true.

And I smiled.

Because Queen Jane deserved

All those diamond castles,

And silk dresses.

And I pray I leave soon too,

So I can meet Queen Jane

One more time,

And see those laughing eyes again.