Received this in an email today

The Dash** by Linda Ellis*

I read of a man who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone.

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

and spoke of the following date with tears,

but he said that what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.

For, that dash represents all the time

that she spent alive on earth

and now only those who loved her

know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars, the house, the cash,

what matters is how we live and love.

And how we spend our dash!