Tearfully

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.