In your absence
It’s not that there’s less
Laughter to life,
There’s not less love
Or even less light,
Not all comfort is lost
Or all joking discarded,
Not all happiness hushed
Or all joy deserted.
It’s not that I’m saying
The sun won’t rise,
That darkness descends
And sorrow arrives,
I won’t pretend
That all color has faded-
That we have been robbed,
Ransacked and raided.
But your laughter’s now missing
And your goodness extinguished-
Your connection to me now
Has been truly relinquished,
I’ll remember you always
As the gentlest host,
Not the tallest of men
But of heart- you had most.
It’s so long since I’ve seen you
But I’ll never forget
The kindness you showed me
That will long outlive death,
You were funny and folly,
Caring and kind,
A gent of distinction,
And wickedly refined.
