Ripples

In Memory of Kolleen Roberts By Ralph Roberts

A rainy day on Lake St. Clair,

I watch the rain splash down upon the water,

Each drop disappearing in the surface, forming ripples,

Undulating rings expanding out across the lake.

Each droplet squeezed from mysterious clouds,

Some natural phenomenon I never understood—

Condensation or precipitation,

Or some other lesson I had never learned.

On a sunnier day in May,

My daughter Kolleen passed away upon this lake,

A life that seemed to me

More fleeting than the lifetime of a raindrop.

Each drop squeezed out and shaped by forces

As mysterious as those from which Kolleen was cast,

As if the universal spirit had coalesced to form Kolleen,

And drop her as a blessing in our lives.

The ripples, though, held out some hope.

In the ripples I could see Kolleen,

My daughter, a sister, an athlete, mentor, student, knitter, a loyal friend,

A smile, a laugh, a giggle, a joy to be around.

Kolleen passed through our lives

And plunged into the surface of this lake,

But her spirit still ripples

Through the lives of those she loved.

We keep in touch with Kolleen’s friends and teachers, coaches, mentors,

All the people she affected and who affected her.

Through them, we see Kolleen.

We see her spirit, her dreams, her words, her deeds

Living in the ones she loved.

People are like raindrops passing through our lives,

Splashing on the infinite surface of eternity,

Our ripples intersecting one another,

Affecting one another in mysterious and unexpected ways.

I wonder when all is said and done,

When my life ends and sends waves of past words and deeds

Rippling through the lives of those I’ve met and those I’ve loved,

Just what those undulating ripples will convey,

And what Kolleen would have to say.

Visit www.kolleenroberts.com