Till Only Love Remains

It was as if I could hear time moving.  I searched for the pause button.  Sauce was bubbling in the kitchen and the table was full.  Together, all of us were there.  He was there.  At the head of the table he sat spilling stories we had all heard a million times.  As his words scattered I reached for them.  I collected the memories and pocketed his thoughts.  His laughter was lyrical. Contagious, like a song you can’t get out of your head. I would give anything to play that song just one more time.  I yearn for just one more day. I would not take a second for granted.  Not a single heartbeat.  How I wish I could sit with my grandpa again.

He was taken from us suddenly.  I remember the last time we spoke.  I took his face in my hands and his eyes reminded me of the fall, brown with peaks of gold.  Warm, but the trees behind him were bare.  I could feel the winter coming but desperately tried to hold on the fading sun.  I told him I would see him in exactly seven days.  We promised to share breakfast when Sunday returned again.  I told him I loved him, so very much.  We never said goodbye.  He found the road home.  I never heard his voice again.

The sounds fade and only echoes remain.  It has been often said, the voices are hardest to recall.  I find myself saving voicemails now.  I want to preserve the sound.  I collect voices like pictures.  I want to listen when they have no more words. I recognize this moment is just that and in a second it could all be gone.

I am awakened by the loss and feel the delicate pieces of the universe in my hands.  Life so fragile, we often forget how easily our worlds can break.  It is impossible to know when our last goodbye is said or when the storybook will close.  For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the details.

What are your details?  They can be so small but hold a hurricane of power.  Simple, like the quiet of morning shared with someone you love. Special, like a noisy kitchen filled with family.  Perfect, like a late night filled with laughter and your very best friends.  Life’s details, your details, their details. These are the only details that matter.

The rest is only dust.  Scatter it; sweep it away, till only love remains.