FOR DEB

You would have loved this.
All of us sitting in the room you picked out,
Dark wood, earthy concrete, flooded with natural light,
Facing a window running the length of the wall,
Our view of small waterfalls in a sculpted garden dug out of the Marin hillside.

Rabbi, her first funeral,
A breath taken for all of us, the sense of presence,
Honest, sweet, singing the traditional,
A calm voice, going slow,
Making sure everything was,
Just how you wanted it.

We spoke to each other,
Telling stories about you,
Then,

We followed you,
Carried out by your children and family,
Up the hill, then down to your grave on the hillside,
Flowers nearby harboring a butterfly,
Perhaps you, for all we know.

We buried you,
All of us shoveling dirt, tree boughs, flowers.
Taking our time.
The dirt, always the dirt,
We will come back to the dirt.

Sharing this special place
Creating glow,
All of us aware you had done it again,
Bringing us here together,
Knowing it would move us exactly the way it moved you.

Your wish always being –
If only the people you made special by knowing them, could know each other,
Then we would all know what you have known all along –
That there is love.
Only love.