I have to begin with apologies...several PMs & emails as yet unanswered....they will be!
Where to begin...it has to be with Kat. Some months ago, in one of her many, loving, comforting posts, she made reference to Avalon. A little reading around the Arthurian Legends revealed just how perfect that reference was for Ann & I & as so often happens when my emotions are threatening to overwhelm me, I turned to poetry. What follows was begun when Jane was still alive, but not completed until after her death. I would like to dedicate it to Jane, Kat & her belovéd husband.
                  
                                 'Shall we Meet in Avalon?'

And shall we meet in Avalon, or does our journey voyage on
To places never, ever seen where only those who've passed have been?
At journey's end, what will we find, comfort for the tortured mind?
Respite for the restless soul, with passing time, will we be whole?
Shall we be whole to laugh again, despite the anguish, tears & pain?
Shall we be whole to smile & say: "It's time, tomorrow is another day?"
Another day, a different course, (Death's trade winds blew with awful force.)
Our future waits, as yet unknown, but we are two, we're not alone.
The Love we share that binds us tight, enhanced by Friend's illumined light.
Wisdom, Care, Compassion, Healing as breakers struck & left us reeling.
Calmer waters now surround, recedes the risk to run aground.
This voyage complete, we sail again, more mindful now of other's pain.
More mindful now of what we've lost and how to bear & count the cost.
                                                                                             
                                                                           (March-August 2013)