Passage

If I should die- let this be said of me…
That I have touched you, thus, eternity-
That every reason I could ever live
Was once fulfilled by something you did give.

It was this thing, this precious, simple touch-
Of one whom I had come to love so much
No other wish or dream I’ve ever known-
Could match the gentle kindness you have shown.

The memory I took with me that day-
The one thing that could never go away-
The feelings we did share, for me, since then-
Would never let me touch the ground again.

Yet even now I only see your face
In all I do, and every secret place
So all of you becomes life’s better part-
Let it be said that I once touched your heart.

And what is time? I’ll think of it no more-
But only time with you whom I adore-
For all the lives who might have touched my soul-
It was for you to play the cosmic role.

John H. Bidwell