Two Dozen for Anne

Now You Are Gone
For Anne, in loving memory

When lilacs bloom again
in all their lilting loveliness,
I’ll think of you when daffodils
dazzle and tulips tantalize,
for there has always been
something of the Spring
in you with its perpetual
budding of hope and happiness,
even as our years lengthened,
and so, with summer gone
and Winter come a-chilling,
I need only recall
the lilacs in your eyes to find
the strength to carry on
and, above all, summon
the will to keep on loving.