Poem: To The One Who Left

Extant in our minds
Vivid in our thoughts
We remember.

To you our beauty who departed unannounced
To you our jewel who checked out untold
To you our substance who left unprepared
We remember.

It was many years ago
A score and one
But this memory has suffered no senility
This heart has seen no distortions
Today, like many days in our lives
We remember.

We remember how you caressed our soul
How you decorated our lives
How you tended to our troubled heads
And how you were there.

You were there when there was nothing
When all we had were the dreams you helped us nurture
You were there when the days were dark and the nights, tight
You were there when living was a herculean task and the next meal was an answered prayer.
You were there when no one else was there.

To you who left
we remember.
Our heartthrob, Our Hadassah, Our joy, Our convener, Our cheerleader.

And though it seemed like death has won when you left
Though it seemed the sting has had a victorious day
Though it appeared the inevitable had the last laugh
But we know better.

Death did not win, for you never truly left
We see you in our thoughts, we hear your voice call out our names every now and then
We behold you in the beauty of our dreams and in life's perilous moment, we see you
To the one who left, rest on, worry less, sleep sound, for our ultimate reunification is a certainty
And it is for you who left that we will strive to make this world a better place and die empty.