Poem on death

Read by Rev Brent Hawkes at the memorial service for Seamus Hendra January 25, 2025 at Richmond Hill United Church.

Poems-Death

The following was written by a dying patient, Orville Kelly, for his wife Wanda. It is from pages 143/4 of a book by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross entitled "Death: The Final Stage of Growth". Elisabeth Kubler-Ross worked with the victims of Nazi Germany, in Switzerland, during WWII.

Spring, and the land lies fresh green

Beneath a yellow sun

We walked the land together, you and I

And never knew what the future days would bring:

Will you often think of me, When flowers burst forth each

year?

When the earth begins to grow again? Some say death is so

final,

But my love for you can never die,

Just as the sun once warmed our hearts,

Let this love touch you some night, When I am gone,

And loneliness comes- Before the dawn begins to scatter

Your dreams away.

Summer, and I never knew a bird Could sing so sweet and

clear,

Until they told me I must leave you For a while

I never knew the sky could be so deep a blue,

Until I knew I could not grow old with you

But better to be loved by you,

Than to have lived a million summers,

And never known your love.

Together, let us you and I

Remember the days and nights, For eternity.

Fall, and the earth begins to die,

And leaves turn golden-brown upon the trees.

Remember me, too, in autumn, for I will walk with you,

As of old, along a city sidewalk at evening-time,

Though I cannot hold you by the hand.

Winter, and perhaps someday there may be

Another fireplace, another room,

With crackling fire and fragrant smoke,

And turning, suddenly, we will be together,

And I will hear your laughter and touch your face,

And hold you close to me again.

But, until then, if loneliness should seek you out,

Some winter night, when snow is falling down,

Remember, though death has come to me,

Love will never go away.