The Dash

“​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.”

Linda Ellis, Live Your Dash: Make Every Moment Matter (Short version seen at https://mindly.social/@wainjoe/109772332832780486 first, then I found the longer version)