for Charles and Pauline
When she said I won’t be coming back
She knew you would
And would bring such living memories
That she would forever be at rest
With you there, always
Returning with the morning light
Or when it rains
Or whenever you set off from the shore
Or gathering the warmth of a fire
You will find through her
The wild peace, the ecstatic
Harmony of color, the sacred
Loon that calls us to life
That in its leaving never departs.