Memorial service
by poetrydiary
They call death a shadow,
but I saw only light:
in faces at your wedding,
and a picnic by a lake.
In the eyes of your family;
moments of your life glistening
like starlight in their tears
and mine, who hardly knew you,
yet cannot be untouched
by your life and loves,
and the soulprints you left behind
forever lightening opened hearts.
They call death a shadow,
but I saw only light.
———————–
I attended a memorial service for my wife’s uncle, who died aged 84, last week.
Posted on Poets United.
poetry diary 
How wonderful to live so long and still be loved. Loved ‘soulprints”
Wonderful
smiles….it is nice when their light and hte light they left is brighter even than that shadow…
I like the weaving of the first and last lines ~ A light, sometimes it shines brightly when we realize its fragility ~
This is beautiful. I do hope you shared these words with the bereaved because such a gift would be an open window to someone in mourning.
lovely tribute.especially loved the idea of soulprints.
to see the light in death is hard but you’ve captured this so well
Wonderful that you remember him in a positive light.
What a positive approach to mourning, you have. And a beautiful poem. So true that you can always find ‘light’ in remembering the one who has passed. I have experienced the same thing. It is also a reminder to me that I should find the ‘light’ in people who are still alive and let them know this when they can yet appreciate the words.
This is a lesson for all of us. We need to shine the light while living, so it can shine on in death. Nice writing.
“They call death a shadow, but I saw only light.” I love this philosophy – and the poem – very much.
Soulprints and the light left there is a good state of mind to be in and helps the shadow lift from those left behind.
Lovely poem and wonderful tribute to her uncle
A lovely memorial for her uncle. We live on for as long as people remember us.
This is utterly lovely, focusing on the positive, the relationships. Really nice recollection of the service.
http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2013/01/13/feckless/