BUTTERFLIES AND LILACS
(And Whispers On The Breeze)
Sorry I missed you today.
I waited for your return,
thinking it might be any moment.
I was there to tell you how sorry
I am that I allowed so much time
to pass between visits. I came
to tell you how much I love you,
and that I need you in my life.
I sat on your porch swing, where
we shared our laughter in days
gone by. It was quiet there,
and I thought I could hear
our voices from way back then.
I allowed my thoughts to drift,
as I was carried away in memory;
the heady scent of lilacs drugging
my contact with the present.
Perhaps I even dozed, awaking
when I heard you call my name.
I turned, but you were not there.
A butterfly hovered in front of my face,
as if it had something to tell me,
then turned and flew away,
as I heard your voice whisper,
“Goodbye, old friend”.
I learned later,
that you had passed away
that afternoon. A time that I was
wrapped in remembrance of you.
A time of lilac scent, butterflies,
and whispers on the breeze.
Phyllis DeWitt-VanVleck – 8/27/03