Where Our Loved Ones Go Poem by Melody McKinstrie

We have been told
To look up to the sky
That heaven is up there
Where our departed
Loved ones now reside.

But some people
Who believe in spirits
Think that they
Could actually be
Dwelling beside us.

Wherever they are
If there is a gate
They pass through
Or a bridge they cross
Near a rainbow.
Sometimes I wish
I were with them too.

God or the universe
Has made the choice
That I have more to do.
My days among
The living continue.

Looking to the sky
Where the sun
And alternately the stars
And the moon at night.
I wonder if I speak aloud
My departed loved ones
Can hear me
Or can they just read
My thoughts?

One thing I will say
Is that a grave
At a cemetery
Is a cold
And lonely place.

I go there
Out of courtesy
I think while there
About my loved ones
Their life events
Their happiness
Their suffering
And now thankfully
That they may be
Resting in peace.

But my selfish wish
Is that I had
Them here still
To guide me
To comfort me
To keep me company
And I could do the same
For them.