I Went to Your Grave Today

Here's a poem I wrote in 1998 in memory of Daniel. I placed it
in my first cookbook, Slices of Sunlight.

I went to your grave today,
taking daisies and roses.
I ate lemon poppy seed bread
and felt the warmth of the sun
As I sat on a yellow cloth
watching the children run.

I went to your grave today
and felt the soft wind whistle
and felt the grass tickle my bare feet
and heard the baby cry,
the older ones laugh---
and then I listened for you.

I could not see your face
with its bright blue eyes
Or feel your head on my shoulder.
I could not touch your hands,
for that body is no longer you,
covered in the grave.

It was the brilliance of your soul
that flooded my senses---
it was the radiance of knowing what you are,
And what you have become
That energized my heart
when I went to your grave today.

~ Alice J. Wisler