Their memories are my heritage. Their achievements are my pride. Their dreams became my legacy, As through the years they died.

FAMILY

As I sit here in the stillness,

While the crackling embers glow,

My mind casts dancing shadows

Of glad days long ago.  

I recall my granddad’s whiskered grin,

His white and wispy hair,

And Grandma humming blissfully

From a creaking rocking chair.

I see my mother in her youth

And Daddy, young and trim.

I rarely ever walk these fields

That I don’t think of him.

Their council was the granite block

On which my faith took hold.

Their favor was the prize I sought,

As others might seek gold.  

Throughout my life I sought to please

The family of my youth.

Their convictions shaped what I believe.

Their faith became my truth.

Their memories are my heritage.

Their achievements are my pride.        

Their dreams became my legacy,

As through the years they died.

And when my robe of flesh drops free,

And I breathe my final breath,

Their faith shall bear my whispered prayer,

As, trusting God, I close my eyes in death.

Shannon Thomas Casebeer