How is it that you could make us laugh
even in the most dire of times?
I remember when the alarms went off, signaling
"A Fall, A Fall "
We ran around trying to find you,
then, like romeo, you stood on the upper landing and declared:
'The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated'
.
And the time,
even the simplest movement a huge effort,
I found you
half sitting, half standing
above the pink chair,
a pause in space and time with nary a support anywhere.
I grabbed for you,
and with a twinkle you said
'Just in the nick of time, Skatie'
and we laughed
at how absurd it all is.
Then after
a long difficult day
as I cut the hospital tape from your thin wrist,
you chuckled
and with the greatest delight said
'Oh look at its droopy little head'
I turned around,
and there by the fire
was a vase of flowers,
All of them standing at attention
except one,
a little daffodil hanging over the side
like a child overcome by slumber.
I smiled, touched by the exalted tenderness of you in that moment
Touched once again, by your gentle heart.
These are just a few of the riches I have gathered
over many years.
But now, the weight of your loss,
overcomes me, and
threatens to empty my treasure chest.
Not knowing what to do,
where to turn,
I find myself by the ocean,
sitting on her shores
sinking into the sand.
the waves gently lull me,
coming and going
coming and going
Then,
In the still quiet space within me,
the ocean whispers her secret,
'Even in the coming and going
nothing is ever lost.'
Thank you my beloved Father,
for the twinkling, sparkling gift of this life.
