Illustration from my book ” Letters to My Son”

To My Avatar on Earth…

Weep for yourselves
Please weep not for me
I may have died
But I am also free

No limits, no laments
it is all so okay
this life is just as real
in a very special way

I cannot walk on earth
but I can visit in many ways
look for me upon the wind
or the clouds on a sunny day

In the bird that sings at your window
the eagle that soars in the sky
or the double rainbow on the horizon
I will hold you when you cry

Cry many tears
I hope that you do
It’s good for me
And it’s good for you

Tears honor my life
And they express your deep pain
Your body gets relief
And so does your brain

Shout it out, cry it out
Sing your songs of lament and despair
Grieve your loss unfettered
Remove the masks that you may wear

Unbridle those emotions
Roiling deep inside
The pain of loss needs expression
A grief observed should not hide

If you have not heard from me
It is not that I cannot connect
But I have much to do
And much more to reflect

I have wounds to heal
And so do you
Dead is not gone
Our journey not through

You play your cards
I have yet more to play
The future is a dream within a dream
All we really have is today

I have never left you
So please don’t run away
I am with you always
Forever and a day

There is no closure
There is no moving on
There is only living with the loss
The love never gone

You are now my avatar
I still live through you
Through you heart, through you voice
In all you say and do

Make me proud and sing with me
A duet from our heart and soul
I live on and so should you
A heart broken… can yet be whole

You are my legacy
You keep my world still turning
Together we bring light to darkness
When you keep my candle burning

Thank you for your tears
But I encourage much more laughter
And thank you for not forgetting
I still live in the ever after.

-Mitch Carmody 2015

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