Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

All Is Well

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.

Henry Scott Holland
1847-1918
Canon of St Paul 's Cathedral

How can I believe in a spirit, in an afterlife, in seeing my favorite person ever again when the essence of him is already gone? When everything that made him up aside from his physical body is gone?

Tonight, I'm struggling with that and sad.

No, he is not dead yet, but in ways it seems like he is and these words above led to a lot of thoughts that are breaking my heart tonight.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still...
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near
Just around the corner.