Ode To Marguerite

It all still sounds like a dream Since I heard the saddening news Of your rather sudden end. It seems like yesterday When we sat together, Ate drank, and slept as one Under the same loving eyes. We would chatter, cavort, full of life, Over-flowing with aspirations, Beaming with hope t’wards tomorrow. Happy times we took for granted. What a funny thing life is; We hardly know its worth till it is gone, Or we survive to pause and wonder. Today you’re gone, young and tender, A feisty soul, gone in a blink, Like a speck of dust in a whirl wind, Extinguished like a candle light In the fierce August rain. News of your sickness broke the air, And when last we saw was in your room. When last we spoke, I told my sorries For not being there when your mother died. How was I to know that was the last we’d speak? I told of plans to see you soon When I saw your cousin back in town. How I wish I’d done just that When the thought of it struck my mind. Gone too soon, fresh and green, Making the rest of us wonder, For it aches our minds to see our mates Leave too soon for Sheol, Received by the cold embrace Of eternal sleep. Were I told years ago I’d be writing you these lines, What a joke it would’ve been. But here we are today. Over time, a lot has happened. So much hell has been raised, But despite those, I’ll hold forever dear The hearty laughs we shared And the blissful days we had. Though tongues wag and fingers point, I smile at you and judge you not, For no mortal holds the keys to life, Nor can we read Jah’s sacred leaves. This system is a one way road, From which none can return. There is nothing else that I can do, But pen these words I owe you. So as you lay down to rest, Rest in peace, departed friend!