One Year Less

There is no word, no label, no identifying moniker,
I am not a widow, not an orphan, not childless,
But one child less.
One less open laugh and little boy giggle,
One less challenging tete-a-tete;
One less artful, winking manipulation,
One less word of comfort, one less grateful hug.
One less chance to embrace a daughter;
One less new life to carry your eyes, your chin, your grin, your name,
No one word for the pain, the longing, the brevity
Of a life meant for living; an old soul meant to grow older than mine;
Would there be any one price too high, any sacrifice too great,
For one more moment, one more breath, one more warm touch;
I grasp desperately and sense the closeness –
the ONE just at the fingertips of my heart and mind,
Only to realize again and again and again,
There is no "One" – you are gone and I am – less.