MEMORIAM

Crossing the Bar

  by

     Alfred Lord  Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have cross’d the bar.

 My good friend  Leslie crossed the bar yesterday, Sunday, October 18, 2009 at noon Chicago time.

Despite having gone to the same high school over 40 years ago, we had only become close within the last year.  Close as sisters we became, after I heard she was having her head shaved before chemo.  She did not want her lovely hair to come out in clumps.  So being not only  proactive but the bravest person I have ever known, she shaved her head.

Back in the day, high school to be exact, I envied her hair.  It  always looked so ...well..."done".  I e-mailed her and apologized for my previous covetous behavior.  As soon as the laughter subsided, we became friends for ever.

I have no words now, only tears. I have no thoughts tonight only the awful ache of grief that closes around me like a cloak and rocks me  from back to front in its grasp.  I am searching my friend the Internet for words of solace.  I do not find them.

One day, after the tears have dried and the ache inside has subsided, my inner poet will emerge. Iwill pen my own tribute to my friend.  Until then, Tennyson will have to do.  We could not be in finer company.

GODSPEED  MY FRIEND!

How sweet they sounded !