The Empty Chair

There is now for us,

An empty chair

That sits and waits

For no one to return to it.

Our circle once cast by chance

Is now broken.

Despite our wishes and prayers

We grapple with reality

As our hearts and minds

Attempt to make sense of

What we cannot comprehend.

We know, in our lives, that

People are not with us

For a lifetime, but often

For only a time in life.

Too often this goes unrecognized

In our world

And we miss the simple grace

That accompanies sitting together

In the circle. 

We struggle in the midst

Of days flurried with activity,

To make room for silence,

To appreciate our small blessings,

And catch glimpses of most profound lessons.

Today, we take the time to honor and embrace

the communion that may be sparked

as one soul crosses another's path,

Even now as we sit in the circle

Where the empty chair awaits

For no one to return.

December 1, 2004

Jennifer R. Stevens
Written for a hospice co worker that died in Nov 2004