I didn't know you well (I think we met once), but we shared a history. We were part of the same group, but in distinct time periods. We sang the same songs, but next to different people.
Today I received news that you died this weekend. And it brought back memories of a night more than 11 years ago, when another group member was lost. I am sick to think how your friends must feel now, as I remember all too clearly the shock and disbelief I felt then.
Even though I know you and Christine never met in real life, I imagine you two finding each other in Heaven. I imagine you both becoming friends and starting your own a cappella group. And that makes me smile.
If there is a chance to sing for you in a few weeks when I'm on campus, you can bet I'll be there.
Until then, I share the song we sang for Christine. I sing it for you tonight.
She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice...
That was not ours although we understood...
The sea was not a mask. No more was she...
And when she sang, the sea,
Whatever self it had, became the self
That was her song, for she was the maker.
As we beheld her striding there alone,
Knew that there never was a world for her
Except the one she sang and, singing, made.
And when she sang, the sea,
Whatever self it had, became the self
That was her song, for she was the maker.
- Wallace Stevens
1 comment:
That was really beautiful. Sorry for your loss.
Even when someone dies that we didn't know very well or just met once or a few times, it still shocks and impacts us in some way.
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