For Those Gone Too Soon




For Those Gone Too Soon 
          by Linda M. Rhinehart Neas 

The mind searches –  
Within the mind palace -
What were the last words spoken
Your laugh, your smile 
Echoes through rooms and halls 
Long lost and barely remembered. 

The news came shockingly – 
A happened upon obit, 
A message from someone you knew, 
A call from a mutual friend. 

The particulars of how, why, when 
Carry little weight – 
What matters is that you are gone. 
Time, the thief, stole you from now, 
Never allowing for a proper goodbye – 
Oh the things left unsaid! 

Those left behind, 
On learning that you now live 
In days gone by - among foggy dreams
Where the sun always shines – 
Pain has ceased its incessant knowing – 
Where youth and beauty reign, 

Are numbed by the realization that - 
No longer will you call -
No longer will you hold their hand -
No longer will you be there. 

Those left behind 
May gather to share sorrow, 
May find time to stop – to remember 
When life seemed eternal 
And friends had infinite time 
To say, “I love you.”

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