the sails of the ship that will carry my father

on his final voyage to the far shore are now filled

with the winds of eternity and will blow

with unceasing certainty to that destination

the preparation for the journey has been long

and yet so very very brief in the scheme of time

a life span  even a long life span such as he was

surely blessed with are but as a grain of sand

in a great desert infinitesimal immeasurable

but not so is the relative value of each

and every man to our father in heaven

for it is he who so loved the world and all men

that he gave us his only begotten son

Jesus Christ that all men whosoever believeth in him

shall they be saved and dwell in the house of the Lord

forever and ever a relative time not fathomable

by we mortal souls on earth

and so I bid my father farewell and swift winds

for his journey into the house of the Lord

this day that is a celebration of my father's life

brings many memories of his time here on earth

and through the strife and disagreements

just as is true with the lives of all men

my love for him remains  as the love

of a small boy for his father

farewell daddy I will miss you

until you greet me on the far shore