Today is her birthday.
As if she'd ever let me - or anyone - forget.
She would have been 25.
But she's 21. Forever.
Forever young ... full of zest and zing
and a hundred or two other things
both maddening and endearing,
I remember the bad and good ... together.
Laughter - long and loud - left us in tears
gasping for breath in spite of our fears,
and echoes in my heart through the years
as hearty and raucous as ever.
Sometimes ... with a bang, the screen door closes
and with a puff of wind and the faint scent of roses
she rushes in, and yesterday composes
a sweet song as fleeting as a wisp of smoke.
Those moments, swift and elusive to capture
dance around the black heart of disaster
and call me instead to all of the rapture
she now enjoys - and oh, such unexpected joy!
See you later, my belle - Arielle -
I'll hold the torch, and keep it burning well
until someday I hear the soundless bell
and join you in Forever.
- - Judy Gillis
(c) July 16, 2017
As if she'd ever let me - or anyone - forget.
She would have been 25.
But she's 21. Forever.
Forever young ... full of zest and zing
and a hundred or two other things
both maddening and endearing,
I remember the bad and good ... together.
Laughter - long and loud - left us in tears
gasping for breath in spite of our fears,
and echoes in my heart through the years
as hearty and raucous as ever.
Sometimes ... with a bang, the screen door closes
and with a puff of wind and the faint scent of roses
she rushes in, and yesterday composes
a sweet song as fleeting as a wisp of smoke.
Those moments, swift and elusive to capture
dance around the black heart of disaster
and call me instead to all of the rapture
she now enjoys - and oh, such unexpected joy!
See you later, my belle - Arielle -
I'll hold the torch, and keep it burning well
until someday I hear the soundless bell
and join you in Forever.
- - Judy Gillis
(c) July 16, 2017
