GOOD BYE
by Joan C. Pendergast
7 ½ months before her husband’s death from cancer
Life marches on
The journey to death can be slow –
Ever so slightly life moves on
Toward your ultimate encounter with God.
It’s so slow one hardly notices
But always it’s there under the surface
When I stop to think for a moment
Your leaving is uppermost in my mind.
I just can’t believe this is happening
Sixty years of growing together
This blending and weaving
Of our lives into one
Is coming to an end.
What we weave in these final days
Maybe months,
Could become our
Best and most glorious.
For all these years
We’ve helped bring each other
To God’s house, His paradise.
Now it looks very close
Even though there’s suffering
To go
I ask for the grace to do well
As you inch closer and closer to heaven.
I can’t bear the thought
Of you leaving
After all these wonderful years
But saying good bye
One last time
Could be our finest hour.
I love you Jack.
Joan Pendergast
Joan Pendergast founded and ran After Abortion Helpline, Inc., in Rhode Island, for 20 years, and helped develop and run Project Rachel and Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats for the Diocese of Providence. Joan is the author of “Markings of Mercy: The Story of After Abortion Helpline.”
