Stones of Valediction

I move through the stones,
ancient and new
in this place of valediction,
a sea of memories,
sadness,
joy,
and love.
—despair

Stone by stone I seek,
anxious to find the ones,
those that I know,
few among many,
all of them lost
but these— lost to me
lost but still dear.
—so dear.

They lie beneath names,
shadows now—
remembrances.
No longer can I reach them.
They are here forever
but gone,
so very gone.

They once roamed as I do
among these markers,
hearts that beat
that longed
and loved
and cried
as mine does now.

One by one
they fell below,
living no more,
earning their place,
beloved memories now,
departed
until the mournful day
when those who remember me
must walk as I have—
longing,
loving,
and crying
through the stones.