A CHILD LOANED
“I’ll lend you for a little time
A child of Mine.” He said.
“For you to love the while he lives
And mourn for when he’s dead.
It may be six or seven years
Or twenty-two or three
But will you, till I call him back
Take care of him for Me?
He’ll bring his charms to gladden you
And should his stay be brief,
You’ll have his lovely memories
As solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay
Since all from Earth return,
But there are lessons
Taught down there
I want this child to learn.
I’ve looked this wide world over
In my search for teachers true,
And from the throngs that crowd
Life’s lanes, I have selected you.
Now will you give him
All your love,
Nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate Me when I come to call
And take him back again?

I fancied that I heard them say,
“Dear Lord, Thy will be done,
For all the joy
Thy child shall bring,
For the risk of grief we’ll run.
We’ll shelter him with tenderness,
We’ll love him while we may,
And for the happiness
We’ve known,
Forever grateful stay.
But should the angels call for him
Much sooner than we planned,
We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes
And try to understand.”

Anonymous

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YOU’RE STILL HERE
By Richard Lepinsky

At the finest level of my being,
You’re still with me.
We still look at each other,
At that level beyond sight.
We talk and laugh with each other,
In a place beyond words.
We still touch each other,
On a level beyond touch.
We share time together in a place
Where time stands still.
We are still together,
On a level called Love.
But I cry alone for you,
In a place called reality.

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HAND IN HAND
By a 13 year old girl, whose brother died.

Our times and memories spent together
Were meant to be cherished
They were burned in our hearts
Never to perish.

We walked unknowingly, on the same road
Hand in hand.
Now the road has divided
We are apart in this land.

We are separated now,
No longer together
The memories now hurt
There are no more to be made, it is forever.

Someday, along the way,
Our roads may meet again
And maybe, to love
Will no longer bring pain.

That is my dream,
That it might not hurt
To think of you
That this pain would desert.

As we grow farther and farther
Astray, it may seem
But those are mere illusions
To picture each other unseen.

But you are only on the other side
Of the mirror, reach through
And grasp my hand.
We’ll run together, me and you.

Maybe we cannot see
Or talk face to face
But we are hand in hand
And we’re winning this race.

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THE PROMISE
By G. Gentry *

Your birth brought me star-shine
The moon and the sun;
My wishes, dreams gathered
‘round my little one.

My life became sacred
Full of promise and light,
All wrapped in the girl-child
Who brought love at first sight.

The years of your living
Filled with laughter and tears,
Excitement, adventure
Some boredom, some fears,
But ended too quickly,
Ahead of time.
The loss so horrendous,
Such heartbreak was mine.

But from the beginning,
One thought rose so clear:
Never would your death erase
The years that you were here.

I would not be defeated
Or diminished by your death;
I would hang on, learn to conquer,
If it took my every breath.

For if your death destroyed my life,
Made both our lives a waste,
‘twould deny your life’s meaning
and all the love you gave.

I vowed that years of sadness
Would change, with work and grace,
To years of happiness, even joy,
In which you’d have a place.

Memories of you, like shining stars
In the patterns of my soul,
Are beacons flashing light and love,
And with them I am whole.

In your honor, I live my life,
Now living it for two.
Through all my life, you too will live.
You lived, you live, you do!

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EMPTY PLACES
By G. Gentry *

I drove the old way yesterday.
It’d been awhile, you see.
And there, without a warning,
The pain washed over me.

I drove the old way yesterday
And sadness came on strong,
Taken back by so much feeling,
Since you’ve been gone so long.

Places seem to lie in wait
To summon up the tears,
To say remember yesterday,
Those days when you were here.

Places where you laughed and played
Are places where I cry.
These places hold the memories
That will live as long as I.

*Empty Places and The Promise from the book Stars in the Deepest Night by Genesse Bourdeau Gentry, 1999

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By Jennifer L. Page
"Jennifer wrote this poem two years before she died, but her mother
didn't find it until one year after she died."

I made a wish for you tonight
That the stars would sparkle in your eyes
That tomorrow the sun would shine for you
Flowers would bloom, birds would sing
And your heart would heal.

I made a wish for you tonight
That your lips would smile again
That laughter would tickle up from inside you
And let yourself feel again.

I made a wish for you tonight
That life would be good
That you would find peace and joy
That your wishes and dreams came true
And that I am part of them.

Jennifer L. Page
08 April 01

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