I have reached
the stage in my life
where I know
more
of friends dying
than
of friends giving
birth;
of friends' parents dying,
and neighbors,
and classmates,
and friends' wives and husbands passing.
I want to say let's celebrate and protect every precious life
but there is a sadness every time I see
an image of the surviving relatives' solemn and quiet portraits.
My heart gets heavy.
Yet somehow I think of how it was like
when my parents passed away and then my sister Leah.
We were devastated and heartbroken.
No one knew how much because life continues.
We take care of things and others.
So we celebrate life.
Our bodies and souls have invisible connections
to the not yet born,
the living,
the dying
and the dead.
We are like a ball with many strings
attached to other balls and their strings,
eagerly tangled, auspiciously entangled.
Others we cut because they pull us down
to misery for no favorable reason,
or sensible outcome;
the cord has become discord.
From those, we move on
and don't look back;
for there are many more strings
that hold us in a wonderful, desirable state
we strive for and work so hard to be.
There are many more connections
to make in our journey.
I am ball sometimes at rest,
frequently bouncing, rolling
eagerly,
tenderly,
gingerly,
so as not to fray and cut
those shimmering,
fluttering,
delicate,
yet strong strings that
are held
by love
in many stages
that surpass
the boundaries of
life and death.
And I see another string...
My condolences to the families of my elementary school classmate Shirley, my brother's classmate Josephine and our family friend and my late sister's law partner Juanito. May God bless your families. Rest in peace. As for you my dearest Juanito, I like what my friend Steve Elsaesser wrote: "Since there are probably not many lawyers in heaven, "King and Adorio" should be a busy, BUSY office up there... :)
