To Those I Love

by Isla Paschal Richardson
If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the Silent Way, grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk
Of me as if I were beside you there,
(I’d come… I’d come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers?)
And when you hear a song or see a bird I loved,
Please do not let the thought of me be sad…
For I am loving you just as I always have…
You were so good to me!
There are so many things I wanted still to do…
So many things to say to you…
Remember that I did not fear…
It was just leaving you that was so hard to face…
We cannot see Beyond… But this I know;
I loved you so…
‘Twas heaven here with you!

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This is a poem Dad had included in one of his journals. I read it to Mom after his death. We both cried.

As I gathered the many photos and clippings to organize this Celebration of Life, I held two very different thoughts:
One, how quickly life goes! Childhood….young adults….children….work and travel….retirement. Spending an afternoon shuffling through photos from childhood to old age and back as I decided what to scan, all the ages seemed to meld together, 85+ years. It was like Billy Pilgrim’s life unstuck in time.

And two, yet, what a long life they had: well lived, lucky in so many ways, well fought for in other ways. The world would be so much better if there were more like our Elaine and Ted. -KS