In Memorial, always

For our 2nd annual memorial service
Dear Friends, Today we come together to reflect on lives that have touched our own both in their living and in their passing. I cannot say what it means to another person but by sharing our memories today may be we are able to connect our individual story to a greater tale. In my own personal reflections, I wrote a poem that I would like to share with all of you.


Perhaps you call it karma or
simply the unknown
I have named it faith -
to believe in the unseen
Yet still, I feared death.
which of my parents would die first
I pondered old wives tales
about toes, my 2nd phalange was longer so surely
no, I could not imagine
but no matter, it happened
shattered a future
I had yet to even picture
days lost
to never return
heart ache that could only be mended
by the tincture of time
something often on our side
as the family physician
oh how these moments mark us
how sharpened and shaped we become
destined to know
hurts so deep
and so that future is here,
that tomorrow has arrived
ever so grateful
for time passed
perhaps more brilliant our today
and when we lay our own heads to rest
in that and the unknown
let peace arise
let today shine in all its glory
may our memories bring us
together