Once again we gather,
And discreetly collect our smiles.
We shake each other’s hands,
And promise to stay in touch,
And in the best way that we know how,
We simply say goodbye.

But goodbye,
Doesn’t always tell the tale
Of how we feel,
And of how much we’ll miss you.
And we all have a need to tell you,
Of how you have lessened our load,
And deepened our experience.

But most of all, please know,
That you have taught us.
You have instructed us
How to be kind,
When kindness may not have been in our hearts.
And you have taught us to be patient,
When our worlds were collapsing around us.
You have shown us how to achieve greatness,
By simply being humble,
And from you we have learned,
How to speak volumes in our silence.

In your own diminutive way,
You have taught thousands,
And the lesson that we have learned,
Is that we can achieve the essence of what we seek,
By giving all that we have to others;
Our time and our talents,
Our compassion and our love,
Our patience and our forgiveness,
But perhaps most of all,
Our understanding and our empathy.

Your parting will create a crater
In our Earth,
But it will soon be filled by the gifts,
That you have imparted to so many others.
David Loynachan, we will honor you,
Henceforth,
When we insure that your legacy will continue,
As we love and serve all of those,
Who silently stand in need.

Godspeed, Brother.