One Day I Will Be You

Dear Cardinals, 

You are red. And black. And sometimes brown.

You are birds.

But to my family,

You are angels. 

You carry the souls of the departed, 

Watching out for those still struggling on.

You are a Latvian grandmother,

Surviving wars and bullets and bombs,

But falling to the sands of time.

You are Irina.

You are a golfer,

Surviving cancer and heart attacks and radiation,

But falling to infection.

You are Richard.

You are a lawyer,

Surviving a brain tumor and decreased mobility and loss of self,

But falling to a tumor that no one can beat.

You are Danny.

You are the people I loved,

And lost,

And those that death will claim in the future.

When I see you,

I see all of you,

And I feel them with me again.

Swooping down on snowy branches,

Or flying overhead,

You watch me when I need you most,

When I would do anything to have you back.

You remind me that no one is gone,

You remind me that we live on forever.

When my time comes, 

My family will know,

That I will be high in the sky,

Dressed in red and

Watching over them.

So, I thank you,

Cardinals,

For keeping my angels safe,

For giving me more faith than any church,

And for bearing the burden of trust I have placed on you.

I accept you and love you,

Because one day,

I will be you.

The Cardinal Keeper,

Cassandra