The Song Is Sung; The Dance Is Done Poem by Bill Galvin

I am open to distraction,
As long as it doesn’t take me too far away.
I am open to conversation,
As long as it doesn’t make my memory stray.
They say to stay busy;
I’m busy thinking of you.
It’s terrible to feel bereaved,
So much that we lived through;
And I’m guilty of not letting your memory go.

All the bells have been rung;
We’re no longer acting as one;
Our song has been sung;
Our dance is now done.

I am drinking a cup of your special twig tea;
The one you liked as a balancing brew,
While I look out over a gray and stormy sea;
I sip this hot tea, and I’m just thinking of you;
Surf’s pounding these coastal rocks eternally…
The same forever we promised to do;
Love that we cultivated will flower perennially.

All the bells have been rung;
We’re no longer together as one;
Our song has been sung;
Our dance is now done.

I remember when you took your last sips of it,
Months before you passed, and, you knew…
There was no pill, potion, or change of diet;
There was no vitamin or therapy to help you.
You left all hopeful change behind.
Treading water as long as you could withstand,
And made your peace within your mind,
As your body, unresponsive to your commands,
Imprisoned you. So, it was understood
Why you had to let go, and why you were resigned
To let the calmer seas sweep over you;
To carry your Water Spirit, divinely consigned,
While you floated away so placidly,
Toward a restful, more tranquil place,
Where the Good Souls are lifted upward
To live in God’s comforting embrace.

Your song had been well sung,
And your dancing had been done;
And all the bells had been rung,
And we stopped living here as one.

It was your only recourse, the only way onward;
The only remedy to regain inner harmony,
Was to leave this world, and claim your reward,
For a life well led; for a love wide spread,
Both nourished with courage and dignity;
And the love you nurtured, still paying forward,
As you live on in hearts of friends and family.

I am so honored to have shared with you
Most of our earthbound time.
And, beneath the pain, lies a muted gain,
A contentment, that I judge a good sign…
You last heard my voice, saw my loving face,
And your hand was last in mine,
When you felt it time to leave us… a smile…
Till last you lie, breathless, but full of grace;
So noble a passage, and so sublime.

The bells have all been rung;
But, we’ll still stay as one;
Even tho our song’s been sung,
And our here and now is gone.
Our dance is done…
But, we’ll live on somewhere as one.
As long as my words flow on,
We will carry on.

5-4-2015 (Tomales Bay, CA)
Copyright Reserved