some lives are not to be mourned,
having been lived so well as to demand 
celebration & joy
even as we lose
their presence among us 
forever. 
the dead transition,
not to a better place 
or a higher realm,
but to the stories and memories
of those who remain. 
in death, 
they are no longer
who they were. 
they are who we decide
to remember 
and no more. 
this is how we ease our sorrow.
we say goodbye
to the one we loved
and hello
to the one
we’ll remember,
hoping we, too,
will pass through the sadness
of those we leave behind
and make our way
into stories
that bring comfort, smiles, and laughter.