The Last Desire

They knew not where she headed each morn
She toiled till dusk though she started at dawn

They knew not why she draped self so well
People didn’t ask nor did she ever tell

But she was very much the talk of the town
Smile adorned her face and she never did frown

She didn’t want to answer questions, she didn’t care
It just wasn’t necessary to clear the air

People abhorred her. Alas! She was a taboo
They didn’t come close lest the society knew

She was aware her each day belonged to a cause
She wanted to give him all, before his life would pause

She sat by the ailing man to fulfil his last desire
To paint her on canvas before being lit on fire

She found him with a brush in his hand breathing his last
Completing the last stroke on her portrait, her world had fallen apart

She mourned alone and a few tears she shed
This was now a path never again would she tread

She appeared before all in attire so colorless
The eternal smile had gone and so was the will to bedeck

Though she had lost all, she believed her life was a victory
To this uncompassionate world she forever remained a mystery

A desire she had fulfilled of a man nearing his death
Though tough it seemed, this secret she had kept till his last breath