Text and images below are Copyright 2007 by John Stafford.

the dolphin rose on rising crest

and broke the sea of boiling green

then lept toward sky above the blue

in joy still felt there in between

from sea to sky then back again

an eskimo in dolphin grey

passed the word to walking kin

all is well this doleful day

Notes:

1. After Mimi was gone we went down to the beach. As we were sitting there, Terry saw something jump up out of the water just beyond the breakers. As we both watched, we saw a dolphin leap several times. Neither of us had ever seen dolphins from the shore, I decided that this might be message from someone else who likes to leap, to let us know that everything was OK.

2. The Eskimo reference is to a story about a lost trapper who was rescued by "a damn Eskimo"; or in other words, angels come in many guises.

our darkness comes before our dawn

so we'll light the path to carry on

the tears and pain will pass away

as we make our way thru dark to day

some must go and some must stay

worry not for her who went away

her day will come to play and dance

in shades of bright exuberance