I was going to pick up on National Poetry Month with day eleven’s prompt: “One thing you simply don’t regret.” But I’m feeling a little too raw to make words extra pretty, and I’m doing well to get them on a page.

I’ve recently been witness to two funeral processions for men who once served their communities – my community – very well. Then today, we followed my uncle to his final resting place. And the thing that most sticks out in my mind is the total strangers who see the sadness in flashing lights, and pull over to the shoulder. The somber pause in their day to show understanding of the grief felt within, even as the world continues to spin and the sun rises as surely as it ever has, makes it a little less heavy. A little easier to bear. A lot less lonely as they silently and respectfully honor the ones we have lost with us.

April 11 – A tad bit late and not at all a poem. — I have never regretted giving up my time to be present for someone else when they needed it. I have never regretted answering God’s prompting in my heart to move in the moments that He shows me it is time. And I do hope to always heed Him – however uncomfortable it makes me.