On the wings of an angel she left me,
Death has a tendency to rip couples apart.
Though we knew this was going to happen,
A downhill drift, four years, from the start.
It seems not like two years in my memory,
‘Twas like yesterday or the day before.
Fond thoughts keep flooding back often,
Chasing sadness when it knocks at my door.
For fifty-two years we were together,
Facing life’s challenges hand in hand.
Some of which were devastating,
Some just simple, others certainly grand.
She was a really fun person to live with,
Her sense of humour was subtle, yet cute.
Quite often, her humorous comments,
High over the heads of others would shoot.
She looked, without fail, at the bright side,
When life seemed to be treating us wrong.
Affectionately dubbed my “Little Lady,”
She had a fighter’s will, unusually strong.
She was certainly not a quitter,
Fighting for what she thought was right.
She greeted all with a double-dimpled smile
Whether early morn’, high noon or night.
Schools of hard knocks give no diplomas,
If they did, hers would cover the wall.
But she asked for no recognition,
She just continued to help one and all.
It was not at all rare, on occasion,
To hear scripture flow from her voice.
She lived by the Ten Commandments,
Knowing well they’re not multiple choice.
Legend claims they came from Mount Sinai,
In the hands of Moses, on a tablet of stone.
But they were simply just rules she lived by,
They’re what makes a house a home.
Though she is gone, I feel she’s still with me,
I feel her hand on my shoulder or knee.
She taught me well how to look after,
The character that is known as just me.
Now I could search the world over,
And find not her identical twin.
But I find this necessity lacking,
For she’s still with me, deep down, within.
* * *
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-843-4544