Son
This was Dad's poem that I was honored to read at the Memorial Celebration:Posterity
Swift fly the moments of time,
held only by a passing thought –
Forgotten soon in the mist of forever,
leaving only an indelible trace of feeling.
What was important dims in the continuing progression,
held forever in the archives of what used to be,
a part of the past,
and a heritage for the future.
Our eternity is held within us,
even as we hold on,
and the past, as part of us, continues forever.
Take solace, my friend, in the pleasant memories,
for they belong and are a part of you.
In sharing your memories, you offer others a taste of eternity,
for a thought once expressed belongs as well to those who listen.
Even as we struggle for meaning in life,
we live it,
Producing our own measure of posterity,
A real person touches the lives of others,
and in passing remains a part of them.
Who then can say that life begins and ends?
The essence of what we are continues in the minds
and hearts of others.
Rejoice, for a person worth remembering continues to live,
embraced in the thoughts of others, a part of them.
There is no greater posterity
than to become a part of those we love.
- LeRoy Owens, 1965 Written at the passing of a young daughter of family friends.
