In memorium of a beloved parent:
Life, a breath, a breeze, a puff of air,
Like the flame of a flickering candle,
In an instant, can flicker no more.
It’s warmth, it’s glow, it’s heart, it’s soul
Linger on, for a while, even after the light is gone,
But then it all fades away and I feel alone, engulfed in darkness.
Oh, I yearn for the presence of that flame once more,
To feel it’s warmth surround me,
To hear it sing, and watch as it dances
So lightly on a glistening sea of white.
Why do I long so much for that light, the flame that is no more?
Because it bathed me in its warmth,
It touched my heart, it nourished my soul.
And what is left? Darkness and loss?
No, a voice from deep within calls out to me.
Yes, life is an ever-fleeting moment in time,
But what lingers on will never be extinguished.
The warmth, the glow, the heart, and the soul,
The essence of all that was, that light lives forever inside.
It is carried on from one generation to the next,
Throughout all time.
If you share it,
In stories and songs,
In deeds and memories.
It lives on,
In you, through you.
It is hard to understand the light that can’t be seen.
It is hard to reconcile the loss of what I’ve known,
The light I miss, the flame I no longer see and feel and hear.
And yet, I will go on,
To do the deeds,
To tell the stories and sing the songs,
To share the memories and in doing so, remember.
For all of these rekindle the flame.
The veil of darkness lifts, and I am not alone.
Now, I am imbued with the everlasting light I knew as “Mom,”
And with it your warmth, your glow, your heart and your soul illuminate once more.
