A Veteran's Farewell Poem by Jon Ojala

At the end, he simply fell asleep, and was gone.
Before this, we sat in vigil around his bed,
family and friends,
holding inside our grief and sorrow,
yet happily swapping stories of his life,
reveling in his gentle goodness,
honoring him with our laughter and love.
Though he was frail and comatose, he heard us,
of this we were absolutely sure.
Then we fell silent, pondering his life,
his influence, his example:
husband, father, grandfather, uncle, teacher, coach,
veteran, patriot, friend; all these he was.
We honored him with our silence, as the extent
of our impending loss suddenly became clear.
We said our good-byes, each in our own way.
And then he left us.
But he lives on in the hearts of us all.
As long as we remember him, he lives.

© ® 2008 Jon Ojala