Today is the day I say good-bye with a rose in my hand and a tear in my eye,
I look back when I held you near, when I felt your body next to mine I had no fear
but now as I look all I can see, is the sad dark tunnel of reality
I have realized, as truth crashed upon me, all I have now are memories

never again will I hold your hand, never again can I call on you to understand
never again will I see your smile so bright, never again will you open your eyes
the truth is almost too much to bear, as I look at you I begin to wish I were there
as I look down at you in the last place you sleep

I know your future now is nothing but uncertainty.
Where are you going?
Where will you breath?
Are you really in a sublime spot in the sky looking down on me?

Do you see me now as I am standing here?
Are you in nirvana or are you someplace near?
Will you be close on cold nights to wipe my tears,
And when I am alone and scared will you relieve me of my fears?

So much now is rushing through my mind,
yet I must believe that my broken heart will heal in time.
Yet I can never forget, and life I will never forgive, but I realize I need to live.

As I look down at you I swear I see you breath
it is an illusion brought on by my agony.
Why you were taken I will never understand,
but today is the day I say good-bye with a tear in my eye
and a rose in my hand.

-Stephanie Riley, age 13
On the occasion of her paternal grandmother's death-1996.

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