Though this poem is signed, Diana Lynn Zellar, I wrote it. We were in Fort Lauderdale, Christmas of 2001, when we found out that her Aunt Verity had passed away. We tried to find a flight out and found that it was going to cost us a couple of thousands of dollars, which we didn't have. We figured that by the time we drove from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Rapids, MI, the funeral would have been over, and so we decided to stay in Fort Lauderdale. For the next day or so, I watched Sassafras mourn and I hurt with her. I didn't know her Aunt well, but knew she was a nice lady and had been important to Sassafras in her life. Her mourning brought back to me the many times I too mourned the loss of a loved one. This poem is that pain that we all feel at a time of mourning. When I wrote it, the pain simply flowed out onto the page. I want to warn you; it just may touch you.
Mick
Flight
And she began her flight,
Soaring to the heights we dream of,
That we secretly long for.
I know this!
But it hurts.
“It is but a journey,” they said.
“I know it is,” I answered.
“I know it is!” I yelled.
But it still hurts.
It hurts so much.
In the time it takes for my eyes to blink,
A memory passes of her
And tears flood down my face.
A trace of a smile pulls at my cheeks.
Why? Tears? A smile?
Am I sad? Am I happy?
Why am I so addled?
I don’t know.
But it does hurt so much.
I love her and I know she loved me.
She used to tell me so with her eyes.
Oh, sometimes, she told me with words,
But she always told me with her eyes.
I will miss that.
Oh, it hurts.
And so she has taken her flight
Towards the promises God has given us;
Towards life itself, for we are told,
“…death is a messenger of Joy.”
I wish her well.
I long to join her.
I miss her already.
And I hurt, oh so much!
I love you
Your loving niece,
Diana Lynn Zellar