Gathering

I went to a family affair

The uncles and aunts were all there;

  The cousins I knew

  Came into my view,,

No longer had they auburn hair.

Gray was the hue of the day,

Except where the hair'd gone away.

  Nieces now grown

  And nephews unknown,

All gathered for one passed away.

A family the sum of their parts,

Diminished when someone departs;

  An uncle had died,

  His widow denied

The love of their mutual hearts.

The living go on with their lives,

Enriched by the one they survive.

  In memory they'll hold

  The stories they're told,

The soul of the one they're deprived.