The Gathering Shadows

The shadows are all around you
And the light is hard to see;
And those easy comfortable feelings
Are but a distant memory.

When your feeble aching body
Has taken all it can,
And it seems to you all hope is lost,
I shall take you by the hand.

I shall never let you go
And, as I look into your eyes,
May you see the burning hope
And find solace deep inside.

I want to lead you to a place of peace
That only you can see;
And I hope your way will be easier
If you put your trust in me.

I’ve prayed for you a thousand times
That your health might be restored;
For your troubles to disappear
And your way to become easy and sure.

Two days before you died
I felt a ‘knowing’ in my brain.
It was a sense of urgency; of despair
Coming ‘round to visit me again.

Some say flashes of the future
Illuminate the mind
Like a heavy, saturated presence;
Sometimes the most unsettling kind.

After forty years I’ve learned to listen
In a neurotic-appearing way
To this ‘knowing’ that just comes;
I thank God it doesn’t stay.

The guidance settled within me,
And so it was, two nights before you died,
After many hours with you
I bent over at your bedside.

I told you that I loved you
And that you would never be alone;
Then you held my hand, looked into my eyes
And I felt a glowing, peaceful warmth.

It would be the last words spoken
That I knew you’d understand;
For a simple nod was given me
And you closed your eyes again.

I thought about your smile today
And your loving caring way;
I thought about how I need you more
With each new passing day.

I’ve thought about your failing health
In the days before you died;
About the courage I saw and how
Through your darkest moments you tried.

I’ve wondered why you had to die
And why our bodies steadily grow old.
I’ve marvelled through tears of joy
How shadows from light unfold.

Now I see that the gathering shadows
That kept the light from your view
Were merely a prelude to greater things;
For God was ready for you.