thoumayest

This is a poem I stumbled upon while reading Nicolas Evans' "The Smokejumper". It was written by Edawrd Tully for his wife, Julia, because he knew he was going to die soon because of his Potassium-high blood. I advise that you imagine creatively as you read along. It's really going to touch your heart.

Walk Within You

If I be the first of us to die,

Let grief not blacken long your sky.

Be bold yet modest in your grieving.

There is a change but not a leaving.

For just as death is part of life,

The dead live on forever in the living.

And all the gathered riches of your journey,

The moments shared, the mysteries explored,

The steady layering of intimacy stored,

The things that made us laugh or weep or sing,

The joy of unlit sorrow or first unfurling of the spring,

The wordless language of look and touch,

The knowing,

Each giving and taking,

These are not flowers that fade,

Nor trees that fall or crumble,

Nor are they stone,

For even stone cannot the wind and rain withstand

And mighty mountain peaks in time return to sand

What we were, we are.

What we had, we have.

A conjoined past imperishably present.

So when you walk the woods where we once walked together

And scan in vain the dapple bank beside you for my shadow,

Or pause where we always will upon the hill to gaze across the land,

And spotting something, reach by habit for my hand,

And finding none, feel sorrow start to steal upon you,

Be still.

Close your eyes.

Breathe.

Listen for my footfall in your heart.

I am not gone but merely walk within you.

Have you ever been in love? If you have and are right now, your heart will surely be touched by this poem. In truth, Edward's wife was not fully in love with him. She just agreed with the marriage as a payment for Ed saving her life during a forest fire. She was really in love with Connor, Ed's best friend. Yet knowing that, Ed still loved Julia with all his soul and gave her his blessing over Julia and Connor's relationship before he died.

Grieve not for the loss of your loved one. Whether for death or for another. For you shall not remain in grieving...