For Jess

We are here today
To celebrate
To mourn together
& To remember
Our beloved Jesse 

I want to say first, 
To those suffering the guilt of  absence,  
Time, 
or distance­   

And to those who didn't get to say goodbye
And for words never spoken 

Please, 
Let go of this guilt and sorrow tonight

She knows 

And tonight we're here to celebrate
How much we love her!   

I know how hard this is
We look upon death with such dread and sadness
With fear­- of the unfamiliar  
And the heartache­- is unbearable    

We are all deeply suffering here
Our hearts are so broken
This loss, 
Of a beautiful life
Of something truly Majesstic
Is devastating.   

But those that go before us know
What we cannot see through our grief and despair today
That this temporary emancipation we call death
Is actually a wondrous experience of peace and freedom from our broken bodies
A pension for this life.         

Relieved of the weight of her body,  
The necessity to breathe
And of any pain 

Her soul is free  
To drift into the deepest sleep
Safe and whole
Or
To return to something greater.   

Like the wave  
That comes to the shore  
And goes back out to the sea
It is not lost
It becomes one with the ocean
Or returns again
Another wave 

This eternal consciousness
Indestructible as matter and energy
Passes THROUGH death
And awakens in a space
Of peace
Warmth
Comfort 

Resting or returning
But never gone    

This is where we'll find her.   

Where we will recognize and embrace
Again and again
A million times
After a million journeys    

Journeys  
On which we take only one thing
The love we make             

So tonight as we say
Farewell for today 

Please,  
Live, love, & laugh like Jess.   

And find comfort in knowing this:    ­

That morning
While clothed in a joyfully warm summer light
Love held her space
And guided by eternal friendships
She smiled as she left this place.  

RIP Jessica Lynn Iovine

3/9/84 - 6/9/16