Near the Cliffs of Dover

Past gone, not forgotten.

Above the heavens you’ll soar,
Shell spent at the ocean, ashes drift ashore.

In the land of ire, rhythms blend.
Your people and your friend—
Mighty heavens continue to ever remember them.

You’ll hold his hand when you leave,
To meld and mix with stone.
You’ll visit longed-for places,
Together in each other’s arms.

You kiss the waves with your lover,
No longer to suffer or bear,
But laugh instead with the clouds—
Of tickling minnows and blur.

Soul of my soul, life of your life,
Ever fed and nourished.
Memories still remain.
You’ll find me longing—I pine for you,
Never found alone.

A gale took you from me
While you searched for the silver moon.
But may the daisy you plucked
Stay with me, keeping chambers warm.

The white water came and took you.
Beyond the sky, you fly,
Until a Celtic pebble saves the starlight in my eye.

The hummingbird, drunk on honey,
Sweet nectar from the thistle.

The shamrock rests upon my breath
As I sit upon the moor.

My book Circle of Grace and this poem are deeply rooted in, and inspired by, my mother Nell Kolb’s life. She had a dream to visit Ireland after learning of her ties to her mother country, but in life, she was never able to go. While traveling in Europe this past summer, my husband Daniel and I made it a point to visit Ireland and fulfill in death what life had not allowed—keeping a promise beyond the grave.

On a windy afternoon, we scattered a bit of my parents' ashes in the waves and sent them on their final farewell with tears and prayers. I penned this poem in tribute to that day, near the Cliffs of Dover.