"The heart hath its own memory, like the mind. And in it are enshrined
the precious keepsakes, into which is wrought the giver's loving thought." ~ H.W. Longfellow~
"Photographs are precious memories . . . the visual evidence of place and time and relationships . . . ritual talismans for the treasure chest of the heart." ~ Robert Fulghum,~
"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy." ~ Eskimo Legend~
Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. ~ Rossiter W. Raymond~
Remembering is an act of resurrection, each repetition a vital layer of mourning, in memory of those we are sure to meet again. ~Nancy Cobb, in "In Lieu of Flowers
Remembrance
by Maya Angelou
Your hands easy
weight, teasing the bees
hived in my hair, your smile at the
slope of my cheek. On the
occasion, you press
above me, glowing, spouting
readiness, mystery rapes
my reason
When you have withdrawn
your self and the magic, when
only the smell of your
love lingers between
my breasts, then, only
then, can I greedily consume
your presence.
Please Remember Me
Remember the stars and the moonlight
the both of us can see
Hold my heart in yours
And with me you will be.
* * * * * * *
When you sleep from night to daytime
Dream of me in your dreams
Hold me next to you
That's where I want to be.
* * * * * * *
When you look into the sunshine
Please see my face, and smile
Hold my hand in yours
Be with me for a while.
* * * * * * *
Remember me in the morning
Think of me during the night
Hold me in your heart
and things will be alright.
* * * * * * *
When love is lost in your world
And can not set you free
Hold my heart in yours
Please remember me~!
~Mau Mau~
Remembrance
by Emily Bronte
Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time's all-severing wave?
Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
That noble heart for ever, ever more?
Cold in the earth, and fifteen wild Decembers
From those brown hills have melted into spring:
Faithful indeed is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!
Sweet Love of youth, forgive if I forget thee,
While the world's tide is bearing me along:
Sterner desires and other hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong!
No later light has lightened up my heaven;
No second morn has ever shone for me:
All my life's bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life's bliss is in the grave with thee.
But when the days of golden dreams had perished,
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy;
Then did I check the tears of useless passion,
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine.
And even yet I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in Memory's rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?
I wish I could translate the things about the dead young men and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
taken soon our of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?
They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it,
And ceas’d the moment life appear’d.
All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier.
Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself
Butterflies
I long to feel the soft weight of you
to welcome you home, with kisses
on silky round cheeks.
Instead my arms ache with the
weight of your absence,
the empty places that were meant for you
to grow into.
My love for you will last an eternity
My hopes and dreams now carried
on the fragile wings of each butterfly passing
compelling me to pause,
to savour each moment,
each flutter in my heart, your wings
Footprints
These are my footprints,
so perfect and so small.
These tiny footprints,
Never touched the ground at all.
Not one tiny footprint,
for now I have my wings.
These tiny footprints were meant,
for other things.
You will hear my tiny footprints,
in the patter of the rain.
Gentle drops like angel's tears,
of joy and not from pain.
You will see my tiny footprints,
in each butterflies' lazy dance.
I'll let you know I'm with you,
if you just give me a chance.
You will see my tiny footprints,
in the rustle of the leaves.
I will whisper names into the wind,
and call each one that grieves.
Most of all, these tiny footprints,
are found on mommy's heart.
'Cause even though I'm gone now,
we’ll NEVER truly part.
"it may seem that i'm gone... but i'll always be around.
on that early spring day, when the sun warms your face...i'm with you.
on that rare night, when you can see all the stars...i'm there too.
that's me, when you hear a child laugh.
when you're singing your favorite song, i'm singing along.
you see, i live in your heart, i walk through your dreams.
and each time you feel love, i'm with you
Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town. Smells detonate softly in our memory like poignant land mines hidden under the weedy mass of years. Hit a tripwire of smell and memories explode all at once. A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.
Yesterday life was so precious, so new
Filled with the promise
Of dreams to come true
Yesterday we held hands
And walked in the lane
Yesterday I asked you
To take my ring and my name
Yesterday we took our stroll down the aisle
Yesterday we married
We did it in style
Yesterday we had a daughter
We had a child, can this be true?
Yesterday we had a son
And now there are two.
Yesterday our daughter took our son by the hand
Helping him to walk, helping him to stand
Yesterday all of our parents
Were here and alive
Helping us along, helping us strive
Yesterday our grandparents
They were here too
Loving and laughing
Seeing us thru
Yesterdays are such a very special time
Single days in a journey
All falling into line
And what do you think happens
When yesterdays are all thru?
Why, we give them our blessings
And pass them all on to you.
A Shared Tear
As the sun goes down, we realize
that another day is coming to an end.
We feel for your family and close friends
at the loss of your loved one.
We wish you the peace and assurance
that the reasons are there.
They may be beyond our understanding
at this time, but they do exist.
We pray you are comforted during this time
of grief, through your friends and family.
We just want you to know that
our thoughts and prayers are with you
If tears could build a stairway
And memories were a lane
We would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you back again
No farewell words were spoken
No time to say goodbye
You were gone before we knew it
And only God knows why
Our hearts still ache in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one will ever know
But know we know you want us
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store
Since you'll never be forgotten
We pledge to you today
A hallowed place within or hearts
Is where you'll stay
I didn't get to say "goodbye",
And all the words I wanted you to hear.
I should have said them when I had my chance,
But I thought that you would always be near.
I ran out of time to let you know,
Just how much you meant to me.
I should have told you, but I thought you knew,
But now I will never know, if you really did see.
When l talk to you in my prayers at night,
I hope you can hear all I have to say.
I would have told you, if only I could,
Have had you back for one more day.
Perhaps there were words you wanted to say also,
That were left unsaid by you.
But I do know that you loved me,
As you knew that I loved you too.
We should always say what we feel in our heart,
As tomorrow may never come.
Speak those words today as you feel them,
And never lose your chance to tell someone;;
Remember lives and loves
Remember when you shouted and remember when you cried
Remember how your heart felt each and every time
Remember him and his mystery and remember them and their laughs
Remember that you always loved them even though you felt so bad
Remember These Lives and Loves
Remember that these lovers are gone but your friends have stayed true
And remember we were always here For You!
Farewell My Friend
It was beautiful as long as it lasted
The journey of my life.
I have no regrets whatsoever
save the pain I'll leave behind.
Those dear hearts who love and care...
And the strings pulling at the heart and soul...
The strong arms that held me up
When my own strength let me down.
At every turning of my life I came across good friends,
Friends who stood by me,
Even when the time raced me by.
Farewell, farewell my friends
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears for I need them not
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad do think of me
for that's what I'll like when you live in the hearts
of those you love, remember then
you never die.
~ Rabindranath Tagore~
Remember me when I am gone away
Remember me when I am gone away.
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand.
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me: you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had.
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than you should remember and be sad.
~ Christina Rossetti~
When you feel Lonely
When a person you love passes away
Look to the night sky on a clear day.
The star that to you, appears to be bright,
Will be your loved one,
Looking upon you during the night.
The lights of heaven are what shows through
As your loved one watches all that you do.
When you feel lonely for the one that you love,
Look to the Heavens in the night sky above.
~ Author Unknown~
Your Loved One lives In Your Heart
Many tender memories soften your grief,
May fond recollection bring you relief,
And may you find comfort and peace in the thought
Of the joy that knowing your loved one brought...
For time and space can never divide
Or keep your loved one from your side
When memory paints in colors true
The happy hours that belonged to you.
~ Helen Steiner Rice~
Remembrance
Remembrance is a golden chain
Death tries to break,
but all in vain.
To have, to love, and then to part
Is the greatest sorrow of one's heart.
The years may wipe out many things
But some they wipe out never.
Like memories of those happy times
When we were all together.
~ Author Unknown~
What is Death?
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
that we still are.
Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
Let it be spoken without affect,
without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you,
for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.
All is well.
~ Henry Scott Holland~
"I have only slipped away into the next room, I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name. Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Play, smile, think of me. All is well."
~ Henry Scott Holland~
For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.
~ Algernon Charles Swinburne~
When you are sorrowful
look into your heart
and you shall see that
you are weeping
for that which has been
your delight
~ Kahlil Gibran~
In love longing
I listen to the monk's bell.
I will never forget you
even for an interval
Short as those between the bell notes.
~ Izumi Shikibu~
Give sorrow words;
the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o'er-fraught heart
and bids it break.
~ William Shakespeare ~
They are all gone into the world of light,
And I alone sit lingering here;
Their very memory is fair and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth clear.
~ Henry Vaughan~
Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.
~ Matthew Arnold~
Now fades the last long streak of snow,
Now burgeons every maze of quick
About the flowering sqares, and thick
By ashen roots the violets blow.
~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson~
I Remember
I remember ...
My mother loved me, her world.
My father loved me, his dream.
My home loved me, its 'supreme'.
I remember ...
I prayed with the blooming dawn,
I played with the glowing sun.
My life, the nectar fun.
I remember ...
I sang with the twinkling stars,
I danced with the floating moon.
All lost, alas, too soon.
I remember, I remember, I remember
To Those I Love
If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the Silent Way, grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk
Of me as if I were beside you there.
(I'd come-- I'd come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers?)
And when you hear a song or see a bird
I loved, please do not let the thought of me
Be sad... for I am loving you just as
I always have... You were so good to me!
There are so many things I wanted still
To do-- so many things to say to you...
Remember that I did not fear... It was
Just leaving you that was so hard to face...
We cannot see beyond... But this I know:
I loved you so-- 'twas heaven here with you!
"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry~
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