You were friends,
Fathers,
Grandfathers,
Greatgrandfathers,

You had wives,
You had children,
You lived your lives,
Finding joys,
Finding heartaches,
Losing children,
Telling grand adventures of your youths.
When it all came to an end,
You weren't even a week apart.

How close you must have been,
To be able to walk the same path together,
Your families remember your jokes and stories.

When it was muddy, wet, and cold,
Sitting on a hill of cow manure,
You were ready to eat lunch,
When one of you said,
"Boy, it sure be nice if we had some sunshine"
The clouds had parted, lighting up the hill where you were all eating lunch.
Everyone looked over in awe,
Dumfounded and as a farther tease,
That friend asked,
"Anyone else want me to ask for something?"

When one friend took his kids to see his old neighborhood,
He added his friend's old house to the mix,
Showing them how he used to go to the backyard,
Proceeded to pelt a bedroom window,
And called out,
"Calvin, Calvin!"
An elderly man with snow white hair came out the front door,
Asking in disbelief,"Ivan?"

It is better to remember you like this,
I don't like it when I only remember a corpse.