The birds were singing today; restless Nature building for the future. It was a day when spirits should be high; awakened out of the coma of winter. The Sun could not thaw numb hearts nor could the song of the birds lift the veil of sorrow.

It was like a dream from which one cannot awaken. The images and talk were disjointed pieces of film; snapshots of reality piercing the heart. The mourners stare in disbelief; helpless, numb, shocked, still; eyes fixed on a hole in the ground. His life passes before us; humour, joy, strength, courage, hospitality, kindness; so many gifts and so full of promise.

Did we really know him? Why? Oh Why should his life end? A thousand questions flood our minds. But answers are slow to trickle from the well of life. Oh when will this dream end?
They lowered the box, vessel of a life that was; a life that will no longer be there to encourage and cheer or raise the spirits of down-trodden hearts.

All stare with tilted heads and eyes at half mast. Two brothers lie side by side in death as their family stand on the edge. We walk away leaving their earthly remains; their spirits commended to God from whom they came and to whom they return. Shattered lives face an altered future. We are one mind and heart with handshakes and silence, tears and laughter. One journey has ended but another continues as we await the meeting of paths. The birds were singing today...