a journey begun

today she would have been seventy-one.
brigadoon's maid,
days in the sun,
life full of promise,
fortunate one,
today would be seventy-one.

what happens to promise down through the years?
hope is like sandstone and time's rain, our tears
that fall gentle on dreams which when young we hold dear
and wear them down slowly till they disappear.

today she would have been seventy-one.
somebody's daughter,
mother to sons,
a link in a chain -
a now-missing one -
today would be seventy-one.

who are the people we see in our lives?
disparate strangers, familiar disguise.
classmates and daughters and neighbors and wives,
we can't know one another. we all compromise.

today she would have been seventy-one.
shaman, healer,
a journey begun,
gone to walk among stars,
tween the moon and the sun.
today would be seventy-one.