As Fall has come, and as we move to All Saints/All Souls Days, I have been thinking about church members and friends who have died. One such date came yesterday. My wife and I spruced up a flower bed in which a plaque had been placed and in whose honor a crepe myrtle was planted.

These friends and former members, I carry around in my heart. I think of them often and remember my experiences with them which include all those things which friends experience together and share. This sonnet is for them and for the hope we share when all is made right.

I bear within heart, mind, and soul
The memories of their mortality— 
Those beloved saints whose love pulls
Me into their immortality.

Their smiles and laughter I recall;
How facing some, I stood toe to toe
Or side by side in some bygone brawl
About something I owed or was owed.

Whatever the weight of regret
Or resentment about the past
With which I walk bruised, still limping, yet
I  believe love shall o’ercome, outlast.

Grateful for the love which as grief I bear,
Hopeful for the joy we shall one day share.

© Randall Edwards 2020.