A Prayer For Family and Friends

To all my friends and family Gathered ‘round this earth; Words cannot contain these thoughts Of all your love and worth. From sky to ground and all around From birth to dust and ash; I wish we had more time together As in our felicitous, by-gone past. Such as the days we laughed and played And danced in the wild, wild breeze; Flying kites and taking hikes From high hills to the sea. When grass was green as any dream And the trees we climbed were tall; Touching sky-blue I can still see you And hear the whippoorwill’s call. While those of you who hardly knew The man that I became; The fault’s all mine throughout the time I played such foolish games. From sunup to sundown again Through countless nights and days; Despite the endless miles between us There’s little left to say. To bring back time lost long ago Like water in a mountain stream; I wish that I could turn it ‘round And bring you back to me. But time’s now gone as if a song Sung once by birds that flew; Pointing us back home again To that place we all once knew. And I pray we find again some when In this world or just beyond; Until then, God keep you safe and warm Cradled, in His loving arms. One never knows how far we’ll go Today, tomorrow, next year; As memories of those we love and miss Become immeasurably more dear.