Mikaila's Legacy

God granted you the pleasure of her Spirit for a season,
Then He called her home abruptly and with no apparent reason.
The numbing shock and pain from that catastrophic day
Still blocks the sunshine from your hearts with heavy clouds of gray.
At first you cried "My God, My God, please let Mikaila stay!"
Then later came "My God, My God, why take my girl away?"
Then anger and resentment and that flood of disbelief
Was finally crowded out by naught but overwhelming grief.

Since that awful day tears seem to flow from many little things
That remind you of her absence, and the emptiness it brings,
Like Cocoa Puffs or Kit Kats or a bag of M&M’s,
A lollipop from Walmart, or so many other gems
Watching other children laughing as they play upon the slides,
Or another Grandma "seeking" as another child "hides."
Or the seventeenth rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
While Grandma watches "Bubba’s" toothy smile grow even wider.

Such memories will not replace the countless tears you’ve wept,
But passing time will someday ease the pain and you’ll accept
That God called her home because he had a special task for her.
And a way for her to share with you --- of that you can be sure.
He knows her love for coloring and has let her join the guys
Who get to paint the sunsets in the Arizona skies.
And when the Lord instructed them, the colors to assign,
Mikaila spoke up quickly saying "all the pink is MINE!"

So when heavy clouds of grief roll in and weigh upon your chest
Just look at what Mikaila has painted in the West,
She tricks those darkened clouds as she fulfills her saintly duty
Using pink to turn that darkness into something filled with beauty.
Each sunset serves to teach us of the very many ways
To find beauty in our passing and the ending of our days;
That the most important thing to learn is that everything goes on,
That Life begins anew with the coming of the dawn.

I promise you will realize that you are never far apart,
And in addition to that special place she holds within your heart,
You’ll find her even closer than those memories you keep
When she comes to you in special dreams twixt wakefulness and sleep ---
For she met a soul in Heaven who was waiting to be blessed.
There was a chance to join your family, so they made a strong request,
And one day not so long ago, Mikaila smiled and kissed her,
And sent her off in a twinkle of time to become her little sister.

--- Steven C. Stoker