Oh earth? You may take this body
Enfold, absorb it,
For it is time.
It has been failing now
Long past its prime.
But the Spirit--
Ah, that is different--
That you cannot take!
For it is already buried.
Already it has taken root
And is sending forth shoots
Of encouragement to meet life's test
From the heart-depths of all of us
Who know and love him best.
Jill Edwards Gardner