(Wednesday, 7/20/1994)
During the past 10 years that I’d known Bernie, I came to realize that when he was around, there was never a dull moment. There was always something done or said that would bring a smile to your face. (It took me a while to get use to his brand of humor because I was always so serious and quiet. Sometimes it felt like he was picking on me as if to get me out of my shell.)
In the scriptures, in the book of PROVERBS, there is a verse which states: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth up the bones.” I can truly say that Bernie Miles was one of those rare people with a merry heart. From the glimpses that I gleaned from his life, I observed that he was one who not only LOVED life but also LIVED life (and to the fullest). He will be missed. Therefore, I dedicate this poem to his memory.
It was early dawn
On Tuesday morn.
In fact…
5:49 to be exact.
Just before I signed in, the supervisor said,
“Tracy, have you heard that Bernie Miles is dead?”
(Up until that moment, everything seemed just right in the world,
So, I wasn’t quite prepared for what I had just heard).
Shocked into silence, my senses were reeling.
Stunned into oblivion, I was left without feeling…
“Bernie Miles…Dead? When did this happen?”
“Last Thursday,” she replied, “It was all of a sudden.”
Bernie Miles…Gone? I quietly reflected.
No….it can’t be? This is not what I expected.
It was hard to believe I’d never hear his voice again –
Still harder to conceive I’d never see his smile again.
Full of life, charm and wit
And a style all his own,
He was known for his generous spirit
And for the strength that he passed along.
Bernie Miles…gone, to meet his Maker in the sky.
Someday we hope to see him in the great by and by.
And though, in THIS round, death may have finally won,
Each kind word, thought and deed: his legacy lives on.