We are rapidly approaching
the forty-ninth day since you
died early that morning.
We knew you would be dying,
you told us so, told us
not to worry, it was your time.
Still each day we recite
the memorial verses, hope
others in the sangha
do as well, hope that your
transition out of this life
has been made, in some
small measure, easier
by our daily recitation.
We will stop after we reach
the forty-ninth day, but
we will pause that day
to wonder who, if anyone
will recite those verses
for us when, as it must,
our time comes to depart.