The lives of those we love
are like words or lines upon a page or screen

Their gift to us lies not in what they are,
but in what we take away when they are gone

Muriel as a graceful disruptor,
is the gift I carry with me from
her newly empty place

Graceful, not just in act or style or word,
but in literal fullness with gracious spirit

Disruptor, not in disdain or mockery,
but in shattering the false foundations
we seldom even see

Gracefully, she balanced essences:
Sensitive but not silent
Passionate but not arrogant
Focussed but not narrow

She will never suprise me,
challenge me,
or hearten me again

Her absence makes my life
less than it was

Her presence made my life
more than it would have been