Siempre (Always) 

(for Dennis Charpentier) 

I remember and have seen all the lives you have left your mark upon. 

Now suddenly you are gone.

The world is so different now,

descended is a cloud of grief,

pushing through the furrows of my mind,

like an overbearing emotional plow.

If only I could take one last walk with you!

Just to the end of the road and back,

I would be glad to be by your side and if the conversation lagged behind then familiar sights and sounds would put it back on track.

Friend…..

where have you gone? 

If only there was one more time to talk.

Freind…..

where have yoi u gone? 

Refresh old memories from days spent fishing off the dock…..

Summer days now long gone,

days of carefree freedom and swimming off the dock,

memories on my heart cry out like a trembling, new born fawn.

School days now long gone,

baseball at recess,

laughing to tears at stories told and retold,

an everlasting strength and bond.
II. Siempre (Always) 

I will never hear your voice again,

but I will remember it always.

It is imprinted on my mind’s ear and when I listen I can still hear it.

In my mind’s eye,

I still see us as children,

Fishing as the sun fades into the Spring sky when endings were just beginnings.

I think of you as friend and I praise the impact you have on my life,

because it lives now as it lives then.

Only,

Now I wish it was still high summer and I could jump off the dock again and again and the flying spray of water would be a sacramental reminder of the endless cycle of life death and birth.

So someday soon I will go down to that pond and wash my hands in that water and give thanks to God that I knew you,

and I will look for you in the smiles of good people,

with gentle souls,

and warm hearts,

and in picture perfect sunsets that end sunny summer days with the echoes of friends jumping into the water.

Siempre (Always) 

Mourning tears,

become sunset acceptance,

followed by morning remebrance,

Siempre (Always)

T.S. Deary 

18 September – 21 September 2017