I was doing my good deed for the day, br I only had to deliver his meal, br Give him a smile and a prayer, br Then walk away, job done. br But when he opened the screen door, br He had the look of someone who br had spent to many hours alone... br To many hours thinking about the br Tricks life can play on a person. br I saw that look in my own eyes br Looking in the mirror, to often. br The badge on my chest said 'Chaplain' br And I know to him it meant confessor, br And I hesitated knowing br That was not my mission here. br I told him I could only stay a minute, br Then listened as he told me about his wife, br Gone now for a decade, but his memory of her br As clear as glass. br 'She was a damn good woman, ' he said br 'A fine woman-just like you.' br Just like me, he said, as if he br Could see me deserving of a mans love br For half a century-like her. br I felt honored he would think so, br But I felt like a fraud too, br Knowing I was no where in the same league br As the woman who had been the love of his life. br I let him talk on, and absorbed br Every word, knowing he just needed someone br To hear him talk about her, br Validate their love, their life, somehow. br I felt at odds listening to their story, br At a moment in time when my own heart br Felt as if it had been kicked once to often. br My job was to offer comfort, but it seemed br He was comforting me, telling me br That it wasn't too late, to love, br That love lasts past death, past time br Love, is the only thing that matters... br Leaving him some hours later, br I felt humbled and joyous, and at peace, br And open to finding the man br Who will love me like that.