I had originally intended this poem for an audience of one. While working for Princeton Hospice, the husband of one of the nurses died and so I tailored this specifically to her. It was only later that I added it to my collection of readings related to bereavement, and so once in a while I have used it as a meditation before the Mourner’s Kaddish or at a funeral. Being published here in Jewish Sacred Aging, it now has an even broader scope. I not only encourage others to use it but would be honored as well.

These days

May the Angel of Solace be beside you

Every time you wake.

And the warming touch of friends and family

Sustain you as nightfall approaches.

May the bittersweet release of

Fear, anger, sadness and gratitude

Reassemble the scattered shards of your soul.

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