Early one Sunday morning, about six weeks after her husband died, Sarah Eileen "Sally" Mayo-Freeman spilled her broken heart onto a piece of paper. The following poem is the result of that grief. Sally and John, her husband, had always dreamed of owning a little piece of land . . . enough land to have a couple of goats, a few chickens and ducks, and all the dogs they could feed and love. Unfortunately, severe chronic asthma and heart failure snatched that dream away from them. But Sally, being ever the optimist, carried that dream forward, in honor of her deceased husband.
March 29, 1987 . . . Sunday. . . 2 AM
Dear John,
I needed some answers to "whys" that I asked;
I was more desparate for reasons as each minute passed.
Why was I left here so lonely and lost?
How can I make it alone with my thoughts?
All the plans for our future came so close to be
Now it's me, by myself, to live on . . . not as "we".
Which way do I turn now? Tell me where I should go.
These were questions to answers I felt God must know.
I struggled for weeks asking why and what now
I prayed for direction on what next and how
Then finally my anguish started to cease...
I began to feel stronger and much more at peace.
I became more aware of my deep love for you;
I suddenly realized what I was to do
Never let go of the dream we both shared,
Never forget how much God really cares.
Bring life to the hopes and the dreams that we had
Have faith it will happen even when times are bad.
After all of our struggles to have land of our own
It finally paid off as the last days have shown.
It happened! It worked! It all came to be!
If for no other reason than in memory of "we".
Now I look out the windows and here's what I see:
A robin, a squirrel nestled high in a tree.
I look past the creek, and to my surprise
I spy a young deer with sad gentle eyes.
I look up above past the sun-glistened trees
And I watch the birds soaring with the greatest of ease.
From every direction I happen to gaze
I see beauty and splendor that leave me amazed.
I feel closer to God now than I ever knew,
I feel peace with myself now, and more love for you.
I'm free of misgivings, of doubt and of guilt;
I thank God each night for the life we had built.
I'm serene now, more kind; an exciting new life...
A reward from above for all of my strife.
Every morning and night, every day without fail
I thank God for giving me courage to sail--
To sail down life's pathway without questions or fear,
And I now know the reasons why He left me here.
I'll always love you,
Sally
* * * A QMS Deezyne * * *