for Christine- her form to fire

what do we leave?

people will
remember your smile
many lives
touched
the gentle embers
of warmth
from your heart
to ours

may the last imprint
of my time here
fleeting
be one of similar
beauty and grace
we all do our best

love and loss
joy and anguish
may those
that hate me so
be appeased

a preference-less mirror
for what you see
and hate
in yourself

i may have
been too bold
too forthright
tenacious
relentless
fierce fire love

but i was
always authentic
honest
sometimes
brutally so

but please know
that i was never
separated from
insisting on integrity
and ethics
and protecting the
vulnerable

my heart
i could feel
span our globe
leave no tiny
shadow corner
un-turned
dark verses light

my religion…
my refuge
it was always
Love

for C.D. we will miss your healing spirit here. Only 59, only 8 short years older than me, your funeral pyre today from space to space, farewell, we will remember your love.