I think this is what it must feel like

To be old

I hold in my hands

Mementos and treasures

To no one but me

Shoe boxes filled with cards

Expressing sentiments and well wishes

From friends and family so long ago

I trace your writing with my finger

Hoping to connect once again

The pictures from old

Of family I never knew

All those who loved you

Have long since passed away

I feel it my obligation to remember

When I see your smile

It causes me to wonder what made you to laugh

You had such serious eyes

What hurt, pain and thoughts

Were burdening your soul

You were a real live person

Who laughed and cried

Who loved and hated

A daughter, sister, wife, mother and someone’s best friend

A son, brother, husband, father and someone’s closest pal

By God’s providence

We are related though we may have never met

I wish I could reach across time

Tell you that I treasure the memory of you

It is with care hold your words and pictures from so long ago

As I hold these treasures from the past

I feel such profound sadness…I want to weep

Through my tears I wonder what will become of my life

What will I do that really matters

Who will remember me

Susan Bunts Wachtel

January 3, 2009