Beliefs as a child

As a child, I believed that when I died
I would go to a faraway land,
where my loved ones would be waiting,
those who had departed before my time.
In that place unknown to me,
I imagined I would see them there,
amidst endless colours and lights,
where eternal love was born.
Years have passed since that thought,
now I understand life and its mystery,
that in memory and feeling,
the loved ones reside in its empire.
It is not a distant or foreign country,
but in the heart where they lie sincere,
keeping their laughter, embraces, and affection true,
in my being, in every lasting moment.