She always loved poetry and transcribed many famous poems in her notebooks.  She also wrote her own poems.  In this one, I can envision her sitting in her room at the YWCA looking out her window to the street below:  A young woman on her own, and filled with a sense of peace and hopefulness about the future.

The First Snow

I’ve been in Philly since summer
And now that December is here
It brings the first snow to the city
And the Angel’s song to my ear.

I hear in the distance the clock
Chimming slowly the hour of seven
And I know that right now this minute
The earth is very close to heaven.

And peace surrounds my spirit.
And my heart knows things are right
When I hear on the street below
Young voices singing “Silent Night”

Then God looks down and smiles
And it reflects on all the trees
And the sound of all the traffic
Becomes a beautiful symphony

The world becomes silent—it listens
For the first time in years
The guns are still and respectful
And there are many grateful tears

That face this new found challenge
The one of lasting contentment and peace
Any may every day bring these things
And the wonder of Christmas never cease

Me

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 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.

–excerpt from The Dash, a poem by Linda Ellis