Ill Remember Vera

--by Bohdan Sirant, 2012 (dedicated to the late Vera Jacyk) Ill remember Vera As a shimmering aurora Her radiant smile Her gentle aura Her dancing inner fire The squint and twinkles of her eyes And the lightness of her laugh The cute chortle and catchy chuckle (a gleeful quirk she could not stifle while glancing at my sorry work) Her sparkle and her style Her graceful and easy gait (She was statuesque and agile, sporting, slim and strapping And could go the extra mile) Her kindness and generosity Her willingness to wait (She cared, was courteous and Was almost never late) Ill remember her tenacity Her courage and commitment Her shyness and her modesty Her conscientiousness and Her endearing curiosity Her candor and integrity Her insight and intuition Her calm competence In fulfillment of a mission Her compassion Her independence And I will fondly Contemplate with reverence In the remaining years hence The poignant power of her art Its quiet purpose and intelligence Art delicate, austere and hard Clean, sleek, intense, and stark Profound and passionate Its whispers and echoes Triggering thoughts of Distant shifting and Mutating memories

Of haunting struggles and sacrifices Lifes lonely dead ends Barely remembered names Long gone friends And wistful longings Childhoods innocent games Near forgotten secrets Yesteryears faded oaths Perhaps not honored (Could they ever be?) And nave hopes That could never be met Chances never taken Unrealized dreams Smoky promises Near misses and foolish bets Pilfered family photo albums Dim regrets and lingering shames (I still have them-No, you can never go back To undo the blames!) The sacred calls of duty Ho! The sacred calls of duty That like bugled posts and reveilles And fluttering battalion flags Still move the mind and Stir the soul and Touch and tug and start Every teary-eyed veterans heart-The aging, but yearning, heart-Such was her mighty art And power to move --but never hurt But that was not all No, that was not all It was the beauty It was all that fresh beauty! She created beauty When she talked and When she worked and When she walked --And when she walked She walked in beauty too Oh yes, she walked in beauty too Thats how Ill remember Vera