Death Shall Have No Dominion.
I first wrote this post the year after Jacquelyn's death. When I see my Facebook friends, and others, grieving, I want to hug them, and console them, and counsel them that we have short lives, and that, sooner or later, life will be appealing again. You get to choose. "The Dylan Thomas poem in which the title line of this poem is written, about the death of Thomas' father, has stayed in my mind since I first read it. As I celebrate another holiday with a new love, I look back on the first days after the death of a spouse with different eyes. I suspect that each of us understands that grieving can impede our living a joyful and happy life, unless we recognize that our loved ones live in our minds and hearts, even when they no longer exist in a physical sense. If there is a God, they are far beyond our petty concerns. If there is not a God, their atoms are part of the cosmos. So, we should celebrate them, in grief and in life, and spend our days happily. DEATH SHALL HAVE NO DOMINION I no longer fear death. I know that you are there, behind the midnight curtain, waiting and smiling, rolling your eyes, and laughing at my mistakes. Love survives all. No one knows what is on the other side of midnight. But, I know that you are already there. That is enough for me. Do you wear gold and silver there? Does your golden hair flutter in the breezes there? Can I touch you there? Will I be able to get there? Each day I will live happily, knowing that my destination is assured. I know that you are, even now, at my shoulder. You look at me, and know my heart. I spend my days looking for signs of you. I see you at the corner. I see you in every room. I walk to the car in which you spent much of your time. I talk to the memories. They sometimes talk back. They speak of the past, and the present, and promise me the future. Your Sunday paper came today preserved in plastic wrap. I will think of you as I read it. I will save the ads for you. I will put it on your chair. I will be careful to replace any dust that I disturb.
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