Being with Georgette #1
I tried not to disturb her when I got out of bed, but Georgette was already awake.
Without turning, she said, “I’m sorry I woke you.”
I said, “I’ve been awake half an hour. I thought I woke you.”
Georgette said nothing.
“Breakfast?” I asked.
“Yes.”
***
An hour later, the tray was still next to her side of the bed, the food untouched.
“Your eggs are cold,” I said.
Georgette said, “I’m sorry.”
“Did you sleep?”
“No.”
“All night?”
“No.”
“I know how hard this is for you.”
She didn’t say anything.
I said, “Should I take the tray?”
“No.”
***
Just before noon I entered the bedroom to take the tray downstairs.
Georgette was asleep.
I left the tray undisturbed.
I looked at her face. Pale and sad. Streams of tears had run down her cheeks off and on throughout the night and soaked into the pillowcase.
She had never been more beautiful.
I left her to her sleep.
I left her to her sleep and went out into the snowy field in the freezing warmth of the winter sunshine. Birds flew across the deep blue sky over our small house in the distance.
Over my small Georgette.
My beautiful, warm, sleeping Georgette.
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Originally published March 23, 2020
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Nicely written
Glad you liked it!
Enchanting! 🌷
Thank you!
I am not sure about your website. What is your address?
rickmallery.com
God, this is so poignant — beautiful, yet filled with implicit tragedy. Go ahead, tug the heartstrings, damn you! 😉
Blame it on Magritte! (The ordeal of sleep)
I can’t figure the painting out, personally. I don’t see the ordeal. Your vignette has provided it. It’s wonderful to me that we don’t need to know its details — the emotions are so relatable. Poetry.
The magic of immersing in the ineffable. 🙂
Well said.
I was kinda expecting the ending to be him mad about the eggs. It would hit differently if the birds few over his cold, clammy scrambled eggs.
Yes! If Delving Yardbarker had written it, that would have been an appropriate ending.
the fellow in the portrait looks exactly like my neighbor….
🙂
Effective writings.
This was so touching. I guess that’s what love feels like.
🙂
This is really good. It made my bones ache. I understand it.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am interested in your Georgette now.
😀
Sometimes it’s hard to discuss pain.
👍The complexities of human relationships; close yet isolated and the tears say it all.
I truly enjoyed it, you are a good writer …
thank you for your constant support of my blog! Ive just started downloading your books and Im eager to read them. Georgette got me hooked!
Lovely poem
Thank you! 😀
Great poem keep going.
This is deeply moving—quiet, restrained, and full of unspoken love. You’ve captured the weight of grief and tenderness in such an honest way. The repetition adds a gentle rhythm, like footsteps on snow, and the final image is heartbreaking in its beauty. There’s so much care in this—so much being there without needing to say more. It’s a stunning piece.
This is a great series and you have a lot of talent.
Thank you. Glad you enjoy it! 😀
This is tender, restrained, and quietly heartbreaking. The silence between them says as much as the words. The repetition—“I left her to her sleep”—is particularly powerful, evoking both care and helplessness. It captures grief not through drama, but through stillness. The final image, with the snowy field and birds above the house, feels like a soft elegy—a way of showing love without needing to say it outright. Beautifully done.
So beautiful!
I enjoyed it. Like a sermon, it does not have to be long to grab attention.
Oh I love this
This was beautiful
“Being with Georgette” is profoundly simple yet aching in its quiet intimacy. Each pause, each unsaid word, carries a weight heavier than dialogue. In its brevity, it captures grief, love, and tenderness without embellishment—just raw presence. Beautifully written.
So real, raw and beautiful. A great hook that leaves us wanting to read more.
Very touching. You have a gift. I’ll be back
Took me a while to get to the bottom of this – Being with Georgette #1. And it’s so utterly poignant.
Hello, just found this by following you after you read one of my ‘Lord Numpty’ posts. Took a while to find, glad I did.