A cluster of familiarity, of unfamiliarity, and peace created this sacred circle.  We were made to gather. We were brought to search beyond the shore for reassurance that there was still time.  And we made time. For him, for you, for me, for them.  As we looked, a horizon of faces caused us to rejoice.  And one face, the most prized of all, helped us to remember all the times we learned of strength, and of the ocean…of the tides that salted our feet and soothed our souls…of the waves that crashed over our heads, feigning what would seem to be the end of our lives.

Red, orange, pink, and yellow…the colors that stitched a line dividing the shore from water. As we reached nature’s window, of green sea and breeze, we watched the paddlers paddle. And the mourners mourn.  I waved goodbye, just as they all did, imagining ashes dancing in slow motion as they would recede to the bottom.