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Rev. Jerry J. Griffin on past presences
a walk in time
Facing the field of marble and granite,
we stood—my brother and I.
No grain waving in this place
nor any stalks tall
with sagging ears ready for harvest.
Grass neatly trimmed…
a friendly man carrying the trimmer
touched each stone ever so slightly
as if to tip his soiled ball cap
in honor and memory.
Rows of stones…
all sizes and shapes.
Some worn with age
daring the eyes to decipher the script…
single words: Mother, Father, Daughter, Son.
Names and dates,
months and years,
poems and words,
scenes etched in laser,
loving epitaphs cast so clear.
A walk in time—
long ago: 1771-1844
William Griffin:
Grandfather great times two;
off in a corner, a silent presence.
Pleasant View,
the sign gate read!
This stroll with a mission
cast new meaning
on this field of stone.
Not just names and dates…
ancestors and descendants,
old and young.
Real people alive
in my brother’s heart and mine.
Rev. Jerry J. Griffin, BA, M.Div., Th.M.,
BCC, is retired from 32 years of professional pastoral care. During his career, he established pastoral care departments in four locations of chaplaincy. Certified by The College of Chaplains in 1971, he was honored with the Institutional Life Member of the Association of Professional Chaplains upon his retirement by the administration of Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, Florida. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
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