HAD I BUT ONE DAY

Had I but one day of my life remaining,
Then should I see this generous world I love—
The dawn, the noon, the glorious colors staining
The western sky, the star serene above
With clearer eye than ever I employ.
Then I should listen with acuter ear
And smell and taste and touch with sharper joy;
Then would so many things be newly dear.

Had I but one day of life yet to life,
I should be much more eager to forgive
And sympathize and help and love and pray
Before the numbered hours had hurried past.
Ah, this is what they must mean when they say,
“Live every day as if it were the last.”

-- Elaine Y. E.

If I should ever leave you

If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the Silent Way, grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears,
But laugh and talk
Of me as if I were beside you there.
(I’d come – I’d come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers?)
And when you hear a song or see a bird
I loved, please do not let the thought of me
Be sad…For I am loving you just as I always have…
You were so good to me!
There are so many things I wanted still
To do—so many things to say to you…
Remember that I did not fear…It was
Just leaving you that was so hard to face.
We cannot see Beyond
But this I know:
I loved you so—‘twas heaven here with you!

Author unknown