I used to watch her lean out windows
While fear bound me in icy chains
I watched the woman with no choices
Choose to struggle, falter, and struggle again
And I knew I was proud
Of her strength

But sometimes I just waited
For her to tempt fate too far
For her to retreat beyond my responsibility
Because I was tired of watching her struggle
Until she bled on my new couch

I tried my best
But there came a time where my fear
My helplessness
My pain
Wasn’t worth the moments of peace
They provided

So I taught her
Time and time again
That it wasn’t fair to ask for my care
Because I had worked so hard for so long
And I was tired of waiting for her to finally fall

I didn’t expect her to live long enough
To learn those lessons

So now I watch her lean out windows
Too high for me to reach
And think about what it must be like
To have no choices