THE PHOTOGRAPH
.....by Christine Ross in memory of Lucas Christopher Ross 1979 - 2001br>
Music playing:
THE WINGS THAT FLY US HOME
"VISIT WITH LUKE"
He stood there in the chapel
As he clutched the photograph.
No words were spoken from his lips
All he could do was gasp.
He held the photo to his chest
As tears streamed down his face
Hoping for a miracle
In that "forever goodbye" place.
He glanced down at the photo.
Then a tear fell from his eye
And landed right upon the heart
Of his child that had to die.
No one understood the pain
This grieving father felt.
So they hugged him and his photograph
Not knowing how to help.
This photograph seemed magical
And helped him to understand
That for his child... this one last time
He had to be a man.
So he stood up proud and tall that day
And listened as they spoke
About the life of his child
He still needed in that photo.
He held on to that photograph
Through painful days and weeks.
But finally had to let it go
And let it rest in peace.
Just a stained and wrinkled photograph
Although much more than it seemed
It gave him strength to bear the pain
Never dreamed in his worst of dreams.
This cherished tearstained photograph
Is now a testament to us all
That tears can touch the silenced heart
Of a grieving father's child.
© 2008 - Christine Ross
THE WINGS THAT FLY US HOME
by John Denver
Chosen by Robin, Luke's Dad
for Luke's Memorial Service
April 6, 2001
There are many ways of being in this circle we call life
A wise man seeks an answer, burns his candle through the night
Is a jewel just a pebble that found a way to shine
Is a hero’s blood more righteous than a hobo’s sip of wine
Did I speak to you one morning on some distant world away
Did you save me from an arrow, did you lay me in a grave
Were we brothers on a journey, did you teach me how to run
Were we broken by the waters, did I lie you in the sun
I dreamed you were a prophet in a meadow
I dreamed I was a mountain in the wind
I dreamed you knelt and touched me with a flower
I awoke with this: a flower in my hand
I know that love is seeing all the infinite in one
In the brotherhood of creatures; who the father, who the son
The vision of your goodness will sustain me through the cold
Take my hand now to remember when you find yourself alone
And the spirit fills the darkness of the heavens
It fills the endless yearning of the soul
It lives within a star too far to dream of
It lives within each part and is the whole
It’s the fire and the wings that fly us home
Fly us home, fly us home
~ Words by Joe Henry, music by John Denver
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Music playing:
THE WINGS THAT FLY US HOME
by John Denver
Chosen by Robin, Luke's Dad
for Luke's Memorial Service
April 6, 2001