John and I were feeling lucky as we sat in the front row. David Wilcox performed at Glencairn last weekend and sang from both love.... and pain. Looking at videos of him from only a year ago, he appeared much younger. His hair was darker. He had fewer crease lines. But his beloved wife Nance is on the edge of life, and the pending time they will not share has cost him.

I went to his website, and saw the full schedule that keeps them in different cities many nights a week. Yet he spoke tenderly of her, and perhaps she was humming along quietly as she washed one dish, one spoon. Folded back the sheets on one side. Paused to catch her breath. 

There are lyrics to another of his songs that express another venue of connection. They make me wonder if maybe Nance does not need words to feel close to David when he is a thousand miles apart.

"It's more than just words that got spoken, there was language of the heart."

Some of us have warning that we will be alone. For others there is no foreshadowing. Perhaps each path has its barbs, its mercies. 

He sings a song about marriage, and the honesty that usually only shows up at the end of our time together. David suggests that starting at the end is a great place to begin. It turns out to be prudent that he did, since the finale is coming too soon. 

Yet maybe the language of the heart can span that distance too.