how wondrous love can be

two can make a whole

how wondrous it can be

when one can find another,

an other with whom to make a whole,

there can be a sense of completeness,

of something missing, found,

of something needed, there,

of something hoped for, delivered,

of something even more whole than ever seemed possible,

for me, my wife is more me than I can feel I am,

the better self to which I aspire,

the one whose love for me gives me worth,

as time inexorably moves forward,

and the diminishment of aging beats at us,

I fear her loss to me, or my loss to her,

yesterday I felt a beauty in the words and eyes

of another who has lost his helpmate,

and who honored her with a beautiful ceremony

to celebrate her life, and thus also his,

in the partnership that love, marriage,

parenting, and grandparenting created,

The Lundsten Family at the Memorial Service

grace touched them,

how wondrous love can be.

by Henry H. Walker

April 2, ‘16