Beautiful Hands

          The most beautiful hands I have ever seen
     Were not lotioned and pampered and long and lean.
            Not the shade of alabaster that is pure.
             They never had polish or a manicure.
           You could find no jewels on either hand,
       She wore just a plain and simple wide gold band.
          The hands that (to me) were loveliest by far
          Were toil worn and callused with many a scar.
         Rugged and gnarled. Yet, I can find none other
         To compare with the hands of my grandmother.

                   Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
                     I'm following the path God laid for me.
                     I took His hand when I heard him call;
                     I turned my back and left it all.
                     I could not stay another day,
                     To laugh, to love, to work or play.
                     Tasks left undone must stay that way;
                     I found that place at the close of day.
                     If my parting has left a void,
                     Then fill it with remembered joy.
                     A friendship shared a laugh, a kiss;
                     Ah yes, these things, I too will miss.
                      Be not burdened with times of sorrow
                      I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
                      My life's been full, I savored much;
                      Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.
                      Perhaps my time seems all to brief;
                      Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
                      Lift up your heart and share with me,
                      God wanted me now, He set me free.

                                My Grandmother

                       I remember soft and gentle hands,
                         Reaching out to dry my tears;
                       I remember warm and loving arms,
                          That chased away my fears.
                          Someone that I could run to,
                      Who always made sure she was there;
                       An ear that would patiently listen,
                           Someone who always cared.
                     There's something rare and wonderful,
                      God placed in a Grandmother's heart;
                      Something he knew a child would need,
                           Right from the very start.
                          Heaven has a place reserved
                       For Grandmother's sweet and kind;
                       But I had a little Heaven on earth,
                       In the Grandmother I called mine.

         If I should go before you,
         If life on earth were through;
      I'll stop just inside Heaven's door,
          And there I'll wait for you.
You've but to look 'cross star filled skies,
       Past the moon and then beyond;
To know my leaving could never break,
         This heart's undying bond.
      And if you should go before me,
If your journey on earth were through;
     You know I will be close behind,
        I'll never be far from you.
  Across the span of time and space,
      This love will reach this far;
For you'll always carry a bit of my heart,
           No matter where you are.
We've no way of knowing who will remain,
          Or who will go on before;
But if I should go first, you'll find love there,
   I'll be waiting just inside Heaven's door.