I came across this poem tonight...
And it resonated with me...
It's as though Ella was speaking to me...
I'd like to share it with you...
Death Is Nothing At All
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.
ELLA - Everyone Loves Little Angels
* The black and white photo of Ella being kissed by me, her maman, is copyright work from Jane Eaton Hamilton, photographer for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Please do not copy or share it.
