This poem to be read
at the end of my life
When I bid you adieu
from the joy and the strife
A verse filled with hope
and with love from within
To carry inside,
my song on the wind
I’ll try not to preach,
as others have done
But rather beseech you,
to strive twice begun
To love with the strength
that’s God given inside
Then to love even more,
in an unending rhyme
These words are my gift,
I bequeath you today
In the hope you’ll remember
what I last had to say
For I loved you all deeply,
your kindness I sought
And the memories sweetly,
those lessons you taught
So I leave you this morning,
and bid you farewell
I leave you together,
bonded hearts then to dwell
All strength in your sharing,
my love to remind
Your redemption awaits,
—salvation divine
(Villanova Pennsylvania: September, 2016)