I just today found this poem in a packet of things my grandmother had tucked away.  It came to me after she died in 1986, and I had totally  forgotten about it.  She had copied the poem by hand onto a piece of notebook paper.  There I was, weeping in my basement as I read it.  The joy of seeing her handwriting again, and the words of the poem moved me deeply.   I think it was especially poignant because there isn't a day that I don't miss her and can't wait to call her name as she walks "slowly down that long, lone path."  I googled the first line to see who had written it and found your lovely post. What a beautiful story!  Thank you for sharing it.