"IF WE HAD KNOWN" (The if I would have, could have, should have poem)

IF WE HAD KNOWN that the favor you did for us

would be the last good deed of your hands

We would have asked you to do something

that was impossible for any woman, girl, boy or man

Like walking the shores of the seven seas

and count each grain of sand

Then turn every one of them into a year

that you would dwell upon the land.

IF WE HAD KNOWN that when we saw you

it would be the last time we would see your face

We would have made the camera in our eyes, take a picture

of your smile, and stored it in a safe place

Then, we could open the album in our my minds,

and cause the sun to shine, on a cloudy day.

IF WE HAD KNOWN that when you held us

it would be the last time we felt your embrace

Then, we would have held on to you so tight and long

that for your final appointment you would have been late.

IF WE HAD KNOWN that our conversation with you

would be the last one that we would ever have

We would have told you about all our secret pain

that we covered with a laugh

Then, you could have told it to God, and there would be one less cross,

that we would have to bare.

IF WE HAD KNOWN that the words you spoke

would be the last ones we would hear you speak

Then, we would have written them in the tablet of our hearts

so that we could read them to give us strength when we get weak.

Now that you are with the Lord

in your heavenly home

There will always be a place for us

around His merciful throne

Your memory is carved into our hearts

like the commandments etched in stone

Your strength will guide us through life

as we try to carry on

Your passing has taught us that our love is something

that should always be shown

Because we will never know, when our whistle will blow,

and we must reap the fruit that our lives have sown.

So, since we can no longer talk to you

or call you on the phone

Please accept the emotions

that are expressed in this poem

As a list of some of the things we would have done

IF WE HAD KNOWN”.