Funeral

        It is not long till spring;

not long till every sleeping thing

awakes to transformed life anew

with vibrancy and splendid hue,

      responsive to the healing call

      of nature’s sovereign power.

Miracle indeed and joyous hour.

     Then do not sorrow,

for he who wakes the lily and the rose

the resting place of each believer knows.

Be comforted indeed, remembering

     it is not long till God’s tomorrow

               and eternal spring.

New Zealand born Mary Trim, who writes as Marye Trim, has a PhD in English Literature (Loughborough, UK, 1998) and studied journalism at the University of Queensland, Australia. She has authored five published books and hundreds of inspirational articles, stories and poems and was a newspaper columnist for nine years, while also working as missionary teacher in India and Thailand. She feels called to writing ministry and sees herself as akin to those “Out of Zebulon, they who handle the pen of the writer” (Judges 5:14).

This poem was originally published in the Adventist Church’s Australasian Record in 1975, and is reprinted here with permission from the author.

Photo by Jennefer Zacarias on Unsplash

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