Dedication

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"To take the old walks alone, or not at all,
To order one pint where I ordered two,
To think of, and then not to make, the small
Time-honoured joke (senseless to all but you);"

"To laugh (oh, one'll laugh), to talk upon
Themes that we talked upon when you were there,
To make some poor pretence of going on,
Be kind to one's old friends, and seem to care,"

"While no one (O God) through the years will say
The simplest, common word in just your way."

^{Joys that Sting ~ C.S. Lewis}

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"...It doesn’t hurt to think of him. 
This is how grief evolves. 
The hottest pain burns out.
The kiln cools, and I can hold
 the glazed and shining bowl,
 warm and empty 
except for a smudge of ash."

^{Patricia Zylius ~ Not Sleeping}

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"Freed from not knowing where you are 
I've traded the nagging worry for a shroud.

 In the slim boat of each day, I stand 
wary, look across the still surface. 

Balance is all. The undercurrent, strong. 
Not the peace I hoped for, this calm."

^{Celia Sandstrom’~ ‘Standing up in a Slim Boat’}

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"Though you have left me, I’m not yet alone: 
For what you were befriends the firelit room;
And what you said remains & is my own 
To make a living gladness of my gloom 

The firelight leaps & shows your empty chair
And all our harmonies of speech are stilled:
But you are with me in the voiceless air 
My hands are empty, but my heart is filled." 

^{Siegfried Sassoon ~ The Untitled Poem}

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