POEM_MATTHEWS

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Matthew’s Song

Although death has given me yet another name,

I am the same as I have always been—

I am no further away from life than life is from itself.

I have done no more than turn a corner,

cross a bridge, and accept myself as one who travels lighter.

I live where I have always lived—in the thoughts of others,

in the magnificence of flowers, in the center of the wind.

I am well, for there is no greater honor

than to be carried forward by those I cherished

before I was given another name;

and I am better knowing that my gifts will journey further

by way of gentle hands—

my light, my love… my joy; these gifts, I know,

will touch the children of tomorrow,

through all those whom I have loved.

We have always been one—

we are not more separate now

than when we walked together beneath the stars.

I am here beside you; I am in every blade of grass,

I am in the laughter of every child,

I am in the songs of the sparrow,

the music of the rain, the wings of a butterfly;

I am the sunlight on the river, the soft blue of the sky,

and the cool lavender shadows,

which bend along the mountainside.

Yes, I am here, where I have always been—

within the promises I have kept, the dreams I have shared,

and within the hearts of those who I carry within mine.

I am here, because this is my home,

and this is the place where I can always be found—

right here, where I am loved;

right here… next to you.

—Heather K. O’Hara

from AXIS, The Song in the Center of the Soul

***

In loving memory of my stepson

Matthew Tracey Leong

April 19, 1976 – October 6, 2002

Quantum Grace