Mum’s Favourite Yellow Flowers

‘She Is Gone’

You can shed tears that she is gone
Or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
Or you can be full of the love that you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she is gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
Or you can do what she would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.



(Based on a prose poem by David Harkins, and chosen by HM Queen Elizabeth II as part of the funeral ceremony for her mother, HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002).