Hand in Hand

Her wedding ring holds it's spot on her right hand
and reflections of a couple with full heads of hair and young skin fade in it's band.
He proposed in 1957.
They've been apart for nine years,
but they're marriage is 36 years strong.
She used that same hand to wipe her daughter's tears as another grave was filled and the other side of the bed was emptied.
They met at a bowling alley in 1952 and bowled every Thursday night,
but she dropped the ball and bruised her hand 15 years ago and hasn't been since.
In the summer of 1955 they spent nights by the beach in San Antonio.
Her hands rested on his chest while she slept.
And in 1963, Kennedy was assassinated
and when nothing seemed right in the world her hands pushed him out the door.
Those same hands dialed the hotel's number the next day to bring him home.
Her hands held their second child in 1967, and their love for each other only grew.
In 1981 her hands carried in the thanksgiving turkey to a family of five and he cut the pieces and passed it around.
But then in 1983 he got sick and she held his hands as he broke.
By 1984 he was gone and those hands were holding him after his last breath.