Epitaph

When I die
Give what's left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die. 
And if you need to cry, 
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you. 
And when you need me, 
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give to me. 

I want to leave you something, 
Something better
Than words
Or sounds. 

Look for me
In the people I've known
Or loved, 
And if you cannot give me away, 
At least let me live on your eyes
And not on your mind. 

You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands, 
By letting
Bodies touch bodies, 
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free. 

Love doesn't die, 
People do. 
So, when all that's left of me
Is love, 
Give me away

by Merrit Malloy

A Prayer by Mary Oliver

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things:
To love what is mortal,
To hold it against your bones knowing that your own life depends upon it, 
And when the time comes to let it go,
Let it go. 

by Mary Oliver

I Miss You

My world is not the same without you.
I think of you every hour, awake and asleep..
Each day it hurts to breathe and my heart
feels too heavy for me to move.

You were the laughter and smile of my days.
You were the place my happiness began,
The secret of Love I finally understood.
In your eyes I was someone even I could like.

Without you I barely move through my days,  
I do something as basic as just survive.
Without you I cannot find the path forward
or the reason for me to even try……anything.

I put one foot in front of the other day by day.
I hear it will get better, I hear it repeatedly.
But, right now I have no faith in that, 
because I just miss you too much. 

My Prayer

I give thanks for every day we shared.
I pray for the strength to move though
the days ahead without you.

I know that love never dies.
Yet, I pray the love I gave
remains with you, 
As I feel yours for me.  

And, on the days that are the hardest,
I pray that the Love that surrounds us all
will hold and comfort me
until this hurts just a little bit less.

Amen.  

A Prayer By Christina Rossetti

Remember me when I have gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land.
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet, turning stay.
Remember me when no more, day by day,
You tell me of our future, that you planned.
Only remember me; you understand,
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet, if you should forget me for  while, and
afterward remember me, do not grieve, 
For is the darkness and corruption leave
a vestige of the thoughts that once I had.
Better by far, you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

by Christina Rossetti

Prayer for All Our Losses

For those we miss.
For things long gone.  
For those who or what we last held in our arms,
in our hands and in our hearts - 
we pray.  

We pray for memories to stay strong
Memories of words and warmth,
of actions and stillness.

We pray for Love shared and lived,
Love to remain with us and with them,
and for that to become enough.

We pray for the courage to put our feet
on the floor when we wake.
To move through the day as if we cared.

Oh, Love, that holds us all - 
hold me while I hold on to what I have lost.

Amen.

My dear pet

I cannot count the hours we spent playing,
or keeping warm and near.
You were my family and my loving companion.
You made me smile and relax.
I am so thankful we shared the time we did.
You were the most loyal, trusting, fun
friend I have ever known.
Rest now.
You will always be with me.

A Prayer by Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman

I share with you the agony of your grief,
the anguish in your heart finds echo in my own.  
I know i cannot enter all you feel
Nor bear with you the burden of your pain;
I can but offer what my love does give:
the strength of caring
the warmth of one who seeks to understand
The silent storm-swept barrenness of so great a Loss.
This I do in my uite ways,
That on your lonely path
You may not walk alone.

by Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman

Let Us Be Honest With Death

Let us be honest with death.  Let us not pretend that it is less than t s.  It is separation.  It is sorrow.  It is grief.  But let us neither pretend that death is more than it is.  It is not annihilation.  As long as memory endures, her influence will be felt.  It is not an end to Love - humanity’s need for love from each of us is boundless.  It is not an end to joy and laughter  - nothing would loss honor  loving soul than to make our lives drab in counterfeit respect.  Let us be honest with death, for in that honesty, we will understand her better and ourselves more deeply.

by A. Powell Davies