One More for the Road

I am so grateful for the time we have had with Dad.  For every hard part, there is at least one good part.  I wrote this poem long ago, even before it was read by my uncle at my grandfather's funeral in 2001.  It just seemed fitting then, and now.

Sweet songs of childhood
go dancing through my head,
whispering secrets of family and friends
sung by beautiful memories.

The harmonious tunes are not of fear
but of love and happiness;
the tears shed in remembrance
are not of sadness, but of hope.

In the purest a capella, I hear voices
singing lullabies of years past-
mother, father, grandma, grandpa,
then more, now a chorus.

There all the while,
heard only by those who listen,
the songs can be found only in your heart--
listen to the secrets of years to come.