Letters to the World

All Souls Day

Today I am taking some time to remember

all those souls I have known

who have moved on from this mixed bag of beauty and sorrow

Lea, Peter, my parents and grandparents

My godparents, Judy and Martin

friends and mentors named Kathleen, Phyllis, Marylee, and Irene

and schoolmates 

Pat, Laurel, Jason, Richard, and Jon

For whom we now pray.

Also those souls I did not know but think of nonetheless: 

my brother Michael who was born and died long before I came along,

(Would I be here had he lived?)

various ancestors whose DNA I share with my children

 and authors and artists who filled the treasure chest of thought and vision

I look to for inspiration and comfort -

'We read to know we are not alone,' says C.S. Lewis' student in Shadowlands. 

And then there are those with no one to remember them

in November we look upon the trees

singing their swan song in ruby red dress

Spirits waving in the fields

seem to say 'Vanity, vanity, all is vanity,' 

'Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die' 

My heart reaches out to lift them up and set them free

to the place where I hope to go

someday long from now

if only someone will remember me.