"A Song for Stuart"
To my beloved departed son: Stuart Langston Murry
December 20, 1974, to December 9, 2023

I’ve loved you since the day you first drew breath
And I will love you till I breathe my last
I thought you’d be the future and that I
Would be the one to fade into your past

But cruel TIME has taken you too soon
And left me in my elder years to grieve
In memory, I feel your beating heart
As tears, like raindrops, fall upon my sleeve.

I see that smile you showed to one and all,
Your signature that anyone could read
In any language, anywhere on earth.
A lovely lamp to light this world, indeed.

In life you made your way as best you could
Through ups and downs and difficult career.
You marched as to an inner drummer’s tune,
A happy beat that only you could hear.

“A loving father,” you once called me, son.
These heartfelt words sustain me, warm though few.
You made it easy for a little man
Like me to love a kindly son like you.

You travel now through all eternity.
The Universe won’t see your face again.
You came just once, a rare and precious soul.
Go now in Peace, my son. No fear. No pain.

Each time it rains, upon this thought I’ll dwell:
That’s Heaven crying: “Stuart, fare thee well.”

At every sunrise, I’ll hear Heaven say:
“You see, Stu smiled and Darkness went away.”

At twilight as the sun sets in the West:
That’s Heaven guiding Stuart to his rest.

Into the Earth we place you now, my boy:
Your last remains. To ashes you’ve returned.
You filled your share of hearts with love and joy.
Eternal happiness your soul has earned.