“We weep the loss of those held dear.

We hold their memory with our tears,

with flowers and stones

that honour their names,

releasing their bodies to earth,

to water, to air and to flames.

We note the dates of their births and deaths

with comforting words to those they’ve left.

Were they loving? Were they kind?

What were the things they left behind?

How did they define their life and worth?

We celebrate and mourn with grief

repeating inherited or chosen beliefs

as words of power to banish fears-

knowing our turn,too, is drawing near.

Were we loving? Were we kind?

What were the things we left behind?

What defined our values and our worth

co-creating our life on Earth?”

(excerpt from Those Held Dear

a poem I wrote in June 2013)

Shelley A. Wilson