Living Zen Life

I watched as my wife,
over four years,
let go and let go and let go of her life
not wanting to
but who, at her end, 
let her life go with graceful elegance,
smiling softly, saying her final words:

     "Hello
     Hello
     Hello
     Goodbye."

We watched as she left us 
her enigmatic greetings and farewell
sounding in our ears and hearts.

We wondered who she saw 
to whom she addressed
her wondrous greetings?

I am reminded of the angel Gabriel
coming to visit Mary
as if this same Angel came to Carol
and her, in astounded wonder, at death's door,
only able to say, three times,
     Hello!
Her smile, joyful recognition
in her liminal moment
of the fulfillment of her faith-filled life.

This is Fra Angelico's, "Annunciation," that hangs at the head of the stairwell of the Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy. Seeing it, as Carol and I did on our visit to Italy, this does no justice to the original which is brilliant in color and detail. Of all the magnificent artworks we saw in Italy, this will remain, to me, the most wondrous of all.