Happy valentine's day

This is a special valentine just for my family. I first wrote the poem in 1992, while I was a missionary in California. Even though I wasn't far geographically, I didn't see my family for 18 months, could only keep contact through letters and rare phone calls. Now all of us have spread out (Washington, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Germany), and even my mom, who is nearest, lives over a hundred miles away.

I've updated a few lines, but the sentiments were and are so perfect, the rest of the poem is essentially unchanged. I miss you and love you all!


Family Love

How I miss my heavenly home
and all that happened there
bonds of love so strong
tying me to my family like cords of precious gold
here, it's so easy to forget
sometimes those bonds
seem like chains
and golden light of love
fades as I forget
fades in ugly darkness
of anger and misunderstanding
impatience and selfishness
if only I could always remember
the value of love
how its strength spans
from before this life, then beyond
those golden bonds between me and
my husband and children
my fathers and mothers
my sisters and brothers
generations past, present, future
I would always polish that love
and keep it bright
forever.