Memorial Stories and Poems - "A Sister's Farewell"
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A SISTER’S FAREWELLrn(When Last We Said Goodbye)
“You hugged and held me close, and then looked deeply into my face. I remember that look in your eyes, Sis…”
I finally fell asleep last nightr
With that image before my face,
The depth of the look you gave me thenr
Eclipsed all of Man as a race.
It spoke first of your great joy
For the beautiful day we had shared;
The laughter and fun and wonderful foodr
To which nothing on earth compared.
It spoke of the love carried deep withinr
A sister’s heart for her brother;
And shone with a glow from a radiant facer
So much like that of our mother.
You couldn’t know that the image I sawr
Reflected from the love in your soul;
Was both your own and that of our momr
Whose life played an unending role.
Well sister Sue, you’ve done her proud,
And you’re holding her hand as we speak;
The family you’ve left is a real legacyr
That each of us could do well to seek.
It spoke in volumes without any wordsr
Of a real and possible end;
To the visits we would enjoy here on earthr
If our Creator for you should send.
Oh Sis, that look had meaningr
Well beyond the realm of word;
Your spirit knew though we did notr
That your Roll Call would be heard.
So now God in His infinite mercyr
And love of His earthly child;
Has beckoned you home to rest with Himr
And ete
ity for you has smiled.
That smile on your face was a mirrorr
Of the joys yet to unfold;
Your spirit knew of the radiant streetsr
Of Heaven to soon behold.
I’m so grateful in my own spiritr
That I made the trip that day;
To share your love and the look in your eyes,
As you clearly showed The Way.
I know now the farewell you gave mer
Was that your body would be laid in sod;
Yet your spirit would leap and rejoice in songr
With the gift of a loving God.
Now it’s time to enjoy that wondrous giftr
Which from the rest of us He hid;
His words are warm and filled with joy:
“Come here, my child, I bid.”
Thanks for your love, and your message, Sis.
Until we meet again…
Love Always & Forever,
Your brother,
Menno Kenneth Matthiesr
November 2, 2004
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About the Author
For almost forty years of his life Ken Matthies has been a writer and chronicler of life expressed in poetic form, following the family tradition laid down by his grandfather before him.
Faced with the dramatically life altering experience of his helicopter pilot daughter’s sudden death in 2002 he has grown to also become a literary author of true events based on his own life. Though grief opened his literary doors it is the Light of Love and Memories supplying the fuel of inspiration to write through them.
As a second-chance dad given the opportunity to verbally share his life stories with his newly rediscovered daughter it was she who told him that she believed him to be a ‘worthy man’ after having heard them, and who encouraged him that they should be shared in written form beyond her own life – not yet knowing as she said it that she was soon to leave him behind. As a bereaved father and writer learning how to live life again in the Light of his own Love and Memories of his daughter, he writes those stories now as a testament to her belief and faith in their value.
His full length book entitled "How to Survive the Death of a Child - A Father's Story of Healing Light" was the first of these stories which he wrote in the Light of those Love and Memories.
He lives in the solitude and grandeur of a tiny southern Yukon village with his Tlingit native wife Skoehoeteen and the successor to their venerable old Tahltan bear dog Clancy Underfoot, who now happily awaits them at the Rainbow Bridge in Doggy Heaven. She’s a new female puppy named Hlinukts Seew which means ‘Sweet Rain’ in the Tlingit language, a wonderful phonetic variation in memory of Clancy’s name who was also called C.U. for short. It’s a good place to tell those stories from.
You can read more of Ken's writings and find his Amazon Kindle book at www.kenmatthies.com.
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