For You

For you I’ll plant this tree Upon the ground that you’ve walked There to grow and shade and feed The friends that you’ve made. May this tree bear sweet fruit Found only in this place Where others will come to learn of you And benefit from your grace. For you I’ll tend this field Filled with bounteous food For which you labored many years Through endless droughts And lonely tears. May this food feed the hungry Enriching many lives To give their best, And to the many hopeless, rest. For you I’ll repair this barn Mending every nail, painting planks, Cleaning tanks, and stacking each bail. Here you toiled in the heat With aching blisters On your hands and feet. May this barn shelter the homeless, The lonely and oppressed Where broken lives are mended With loving kindness. For you I’ll guard this house Protecting every treasure From the thieves of night And the sun’s light. The lessons that you taught me Shine brighter than gold; They neither rust nor fade Nor tarnish when old. May this treasure be spent To cultivate minds To burn brighter than the luster That money finds. For you I’ll tend this grave Cleaning off your stone, Trimming the grass And plucking the weeds That have grown. How quiet it is here among so many trees Like the leaves that have fallen You’re honored among these. May this grave beneath the soil Remind us of our Lord That death has been conquered, And life to all has been restored. For you I’ll shed these tears And mourn you for my loss, Yet, through the haze of disbelief I see an empty cross. May these tears be fruitful And water with my love The tree that I just planted For my father, now above.