Although I will be
absent for awhile
My presence here will longer on.
You will hear my footsteps,
see my smile,
And hours we shared will not be gone.
There will be times
when others speak my name
And memories come flooding through,
Or you hear a voice
that rings the same-
All these will bring me back to you.
You will remember things
we said, recall
Still deeper things our words implied;
I will be absent,
but never gone at all---
My presence with you will abide.
Elaine Ledbetter