So Long Old Friend

“So long” Old Friend, the time has come
For us to say good-bye.
We gather in your memory
Of times we laughed and cried.

We’ve weathered storms and rising tides,
Crossed fields of barren harvest;
Reached for earth’s most simple things
And stars that were the farthest.

Today we’re called to close the book,
Chapter, and the verse.
If we could do it all again
We’d be here none the worse.

So rest my friend this final day,
Your body’s all that’s gone.
Your spirit lives in memories,
For now, Old Friend, “So long.”

— Dean Hall