A member, perhaps, even more so,
of the membership past and present,
and stretching out into the beyond,
you still remain. Though not here,
but there, we will long call your name
as one who knew us as you knew
Jayber, Burley, Hannah, and Old Jack.
Long will we remember the farmer
who trailed along behind mules and
the writer who shunned the keyboard
for the simple sheet of paper and pen.
You wrote as if you knew our hearts,
as if you knew we were where we were,
but somehow still strangers far from home.
You always cared about us, Wendell Berry,
in ways we did not know we needed care.
Though Baptist we saw the heart of Francis
and in your love for the old ways, Thoreau.
When you entered into the world of memory,
we grieved, hugged books from the shelves,
and wished once more to hear your voice.
Thank you, for all you said and tried to do,
for all you wanted to do that was for our good.
Be blessed in the eternal holy membership
which is a part of the one lived in here.
Though your chair on the porch is empty
we know you are in the other room,
and we wait with hearts filled with memories.
Wendell Berry (August 5, 1934-August 31, 2026)
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