Not that I need a holiday to push me…but as Thanksgiving approaches I am moved to express gratitude to the family and friends who’ve held my hands and had my back along the journey. Nothing compares to having people who will shine your radiance right back at you when you need it the most, and I’m beyond blessed to be constantly reminded that what lights my fire in this lifetime is illuminated by the willingness to love, trust and reveal without fear. I offer this poem as a reflection on love, loss, grace, strength, and most of all, hope…

they kissed us each goodbye

            in memory of my grandparents
            who died 20 hours apart

on the night before
my grandfather
died
i sat with a man
i no longer knew
and in his eyes
i watched
night fall for
the last time

he wanted to go
for a walk
he told the nurse
but i know
he wanted to go
looking for her

there is
something
to be said
for love
everlasting
something
to be said
for lives
intertwined
something
to be said
for having
the sense
not to be
left behind

late that night
she came for him

i remember waking
while it was still dark
knowing that
one by one
they had kissed
us each goodbye

~ from Writing for My Life…Reclaiming the Lost Pieces of Me: A Poetic Journey by Nancy Levin