I lost a friend today.
We were taken completely by surprise.
Although I had not seen him in months, I had talked to him. But
I never dreamed I would not see him again on this side…
He loved, and he gave.
But after he had given mightily, and was rejected, things seemed different,
Noticeably different to me, as if his life was tumbling downward.
But there was more than we knew, than even he knew.
Within him was a problem growing that would take him from us.
Because of those circumstances,
Because I can normally observe from afar,
I thought I was okay, but,
When I told Kay about it,
When I saw his family, friends for 45 years,
When I saw my family, who came on their own to remember with us,
When a friend said, “I guess this is the last we’ll see of each other.”
It hit me like a flood, a flood of memories.
He made us laugh, so hard, so much,
even today in our remembrances.
He apparently loved us.
It’s as if he was always with us;
On those long student project nights.
When we married and were led east to begin our careers.
At our family holiday gatherings,
We would be with him at places that were sacred to us.
Our haunts, both here and in Austin.
Our home, our parents' homes,
Savannah.
As the years passed we held little in common but memories,
We joined his family for their celebrations,
and mourning, and
We knew his cats.
“It was a blessing that you didn’t see him in his suffering.” they said.
I know there is truth in that, I’ve lost friends before.
I’m sure it would have been hard.
But they saw him.
I lost a friend today.
I hope to see you once more.
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