Fetching You (In Memory, SF)

They say that when the good go
They leave us with a smile
They reach for who has come for them
To take them to the next place
And smile, stretch out and recognise
And go with them
And leave us
Impoverished by absence
Enriched by memory

You
Have slid away
Still and silent
Dragged by angels
Away from our
Preoccupied
Zone

But the smile lingers, reluctant to fade
The smile ghosts the room
A scrap of you
Left here for the next time
Left for when it’s your turn
To be some other’s guide

And your smile
Has scratched the lives
Of each and every one of us
And we shall see you one more time
When you come back to claim your smile
And some small part of each of us
Will still be here to greet you