If You Go First, And I Remain, To Walk The Road Alone, --What Is The Rest Of This Poem Or Reading?

By A.K. Rowswell

Should you go first and I remain
To walk the road alone,
I'll live in memory's garden, dear,
With happy days we've known.
In spring I'll wait for roses red,
When fades the lilac blue,
In early fall, when brown leaves call
I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain
For battles to be fought,
Each thing you've touched along the way
Will be a hallowed spot.
I'll hear your voice, I'll see you smile,
Though blindly I may grope,
The memory of your helping hand
Will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain
To finish with the scroll,
No length'ning shadows shall creep in
To make this life seem droll.
We've known so much of happiness,
We've had our cup of joy,
And memory is one gift of God
That death can not destroy.

Should you go first and I remain,
One thing I'd have you to do:
Walk slowly down that long, lone path,
For soon I'll follow you.
I'll want to know each step you take,
That I may walk the same,
For someday down that lonely road
You'll hear me call your name.

What a wonderful poem.....I would like to hear it played by soft guitar music. I bet that was wonderful for the funeral. I wish I would have had the time to pick out some good songs when my mother died; but, it happened so suddenly and then I didn't really know her well for I had been gone for over 25 years. The music didn't matter much. But if I had married, lived with him for years and he died, I would have really loved to have had a song like this.

I'm 68 and I remember in 50,s of it being read to a song by like a country music player like Hank Willams senior or someone semilar.I heard this yesterday at a funral again.Its very beautifuly played by soft guitar music at the end of a vidio of a persons life.That is the end of the poem as I remember.