! ! Their Presence In Their Absence Poem by Michael Shepherd

‘Oh, how I miss her…; and him…; and him; and her…’
a pause; a sadness; a moist eye; a tear…
…and as you age, the list grows longer
until you wonder why you’re not
already there on it yourself…

Oh, but think again… you miss them so, just
because you have them in your mind, so clear…
they could almost be here now, right beside you…
but they aren’t…yet better…
they’re there within that greater you…

you respected them; admired; listened to their every word;
loved them; felt them forever a precious part of you…
so now, they live in you; your presence
is their presence: and

you opened wide the pearly gates for them;
you waved them through the judgment day;
welcomed them with choirs of angels; even
thrust a ready coin into the boatman’s hand
who took them to that dark and part forgetting land
from which, they may return more glorious…

you are a radiant heaven of their life; they live
eternal in your mind, your memory, your heart;
when people see you, greet you, they are meeting
more than that familiar you; they meet the presence of
a great company of those who’ve filled your life -
and now, you’re filled with them…

listen! hear them call to you,
not to imprison them in the past,
but live, now, here, with you; live again
in the radiance of the self you share…

call to mind this glorious company
not on the other side, but at your side…

why, if this were physical, you’d have burst by now…
instead – see how you shine!