for 53 years they were married
raised a family in San Jose
then they moved up to the north country
to spend their golden days

there were trees to grow and lawns to mow
coyotes in the hills nearby
and sometimes when the weather was right
there was an airplane to fly

there was joy and there was sadness
and life in all it's run
and on the other side of life
there was a time that had to come

she died one winter’s afternoon
when a freeze was on the ground
it was like her spirit just lifted up
and never came back down

and all around the hill sides
there was a silvery ringing
like every coyote in the world
was singing

he took her ashes up
in that little plane he loved to fly
and he let them go
as he said good-bye

and he was alone
in the middle of eternity
until one night
and this is how he told it to me

I saw her and I touched her
for a brief moment the other night
it was strange, left me happy - glad!
it was a sleepless night

and as I lay there trying to sleep
I must have drifted off but in my sleep I was still awake
when suddenly she was standing there by the side of my bed
kind of startled me, and she said

"Pa, it’s all right, it's me, Mom"
her voice was clear and strong
we touched for an instant
then she was gone

she looked great
just like she did 20 years ago
when we first came up here
she looked great!

life goes on
though sometimes it takes a little while
now when he thinks about her sometimes he cries
and sometimes he smiles

he’s married again
to a woman with a loss of her own
and there’s joy and there’s sadness again
in that little home

and sometimes at night
when the coyotes cry
he thinks he sees her
in the corner of his eye