We gather
To reminisce the heart
Of a loved one
Laying like a grand, fallen tree.
We feel
emotional roots blanket
them like a mossy,
living sculpture tracing who they were.
We mourn
To be buried, then flourish
from fine memories,
grounding ourselves in a love of them.
We rise
To take in the sun and air
and surge with life
The way a forest grows by its dead.
In parting,
We stand near them
As they rest,
Leaving life and giving so we can go on.