His mother's heart is overcome with love,
wrapped in a cozy cocoon like her baby's first blanket.

She proudly records momentous events in the baby's growth,
beginning the book of his life.

He grows. She writes, collectings school pictures,
report cards, drawings of stick people happily labeled,
and he book of his life grows.

It grows still more as life goes on, and grade school turns
to junior high and high school. He grows, too, taller through the
teen years, and creates memories that can only be recorded
in the minds and hearts of those who love him.

The the unthinkable happens, and the hand of fate
flips to the end of the book.

The last pages are filled with...
"the last time I talked to him..."
"the last time I saw him..."
and "I remember when..."

We cry "unfair" and wonder why, but in the end
the final words are not "The End", but...

"We will remember...his smile, his love, his life."

We will remember.

Doreen K. Schroeter
11/01/2001

In memory of Thomas Ray Quinett II
1/19/1983-10/23/2001