High on the wind, soft-footed you move,
sweeping down every now and then with a whispering roar.

            Your presence blows away any doubt that I belong
                        to your tribe of spiritual explorers planted
                        in rich soil of difficult experience,
                        still willing to believe
                        I can soar.

            You’ve been talking to me all day long –
that laugh I love clear as life’s skies are troubled and cloudy.

            Did you think you had to remind me? Once,
                        we traversed sacred ground together, passed
                        a palpable peace, exchanged our feathers,
                        honored truth that need not
                        be spoken to be.

            You made your journey first, but I will
follow you home, chief among friends, magnificent spirit.

            I breathe deep of your life even now, and
                        on this, the anniversary of the day you came
                        first into this world, I sing out the story
                        of me that expands and grows
                        because of you.