Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.
All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
henry-scott-holland
lizralph
16th September 2021
Mum had this poem amongst her things.....
When tomorrow starts without me
and I'm not here to see......
If the sun should rise and find your
eyes filled with tears for me,
I wish so much you wouldn't cry
the way you did today.....
Whilst thinking of the many things we didn't get to say .
I know how much you love me,
as much as I love you.....
and each time you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too.
I don't know who wrote it but just wanted to share.....
lizralph
14th September 2021
This poem was suggested to us to be read out at the funeral. Nick found a different one which he and Liz liked more but this is so nice as well just wanted to share it XX
My Mother kept a garden,
a garden of the heart,
She planted all the good things
that gave my life it's start.
She turned me to the sunshine
and encouraged me to dream,
Fostering and nurturing
the seeds of self-esteem...
And when the winds and rain came,
she protected me enough--
But not too much because she knew
I'd need to stand up strong and tough.
Her constant good example
always taught me right from wrong--
Markers for my pathway
that will last a lifetime long.
I am my Mother's garden.
I am her legacy-
And I hope today she feels the love
reflected back from me
jo
12th September 2021