Day 9 Prompt: Use the phrase When he’s gone. . .  Twelve hours in the car gave plenty of time to ruminate.  This, from the napkin scribble:

When he’s gone, they will sing their songs into the silence to fill up the empty rooms.
When he’s gone, they will tell his stories around fires in the wilderness.
When he’s gone, someone will place lanterns along the pathways where he walked.
When he’s gone, the fields will explode into yellow flowers.

When he’s gone, you will hear the sound of bells and be filled with wonder.
When he’s gone, a single rose will bloom in December.
When he’s gone, dances and children will be named in his honor.
When he’s gone, all my poems will say Remember, remember, remember.

When he’s gone, we will raise our glasses in toast after toast
to his great good humor and his kindness.
When he’s gone, we will laugh through our tears.
When he’s gone, our hearts will shatter like the breaking ice in springtime.