A Poem For Emma Lou

 A Poem For Emma Lou


It was always going to be
 impossible to lose you.
Nine decades in this life
more than you had asked,
more than most receive,
and yet my heart pleads
not yet, oh, not yet.

You spread your light
and warmth over so many,
telling us we were marvelous
and strong,
extraordinary and brave,
and we believed you.

And now, set free,
to run and dance
and ride at a gallop,
I hear you laugh
and know you are not lost,
not far, not gone,
just a little bit ahead,
slightly out of sight.

–Cynthia Sillitoe, December 2014