We Had Him by Maya Angelou

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing,
now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips
like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace.
Sing our songs among the stars
and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing.
No clocks can tell time.
No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.

Though we are many,
each of us is achingly alone,
piercingly alone.

Only when we confess our confusion
can we remember that he was a gift to us
and we did have him.

He came to us from the creator,
trailing creativity in abundance.

Despite the anguish,
his life was sheathed in mother love,
family love,
and survived and did more than that.

He thrived with passion and compassion,
humor and style.
We had him whether we know who he was or did not know,
he was ours and we were his.

We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.

His hat, aslant over his brow,
and took a pose on his toes
for all of us.

And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing.
He gave us all he had been given.

Today in Tokyo,
beneath the Eiffel Tower,
in Ghana's Black Star Square.

In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh,
in Birmingham, Alabama,
and Birmingham, England

We are missing Michael.

But we do know we had him,
and we are the world.

Sold to Deb Famularo of Sparkling Scrapbooks - THANK YOU Deb!

5 comments:

Stampmaiden said...

Oh Sherry, what a great post. I've been in a sad funk today. I watched the memorial this morning and it's like I can't get enough of it as I'm going back and forth trying to catch highlights this evening.
Linda

Diane said...

Beautiful post, Sherry. I watched the memorial in it's entirety. It was so moving. Loved hearing AL Sharpton & Brooke Shields. Little Paris broke my heart! He had three lovely children whom obviously loved him very much! Like Marlon said, maybe people will leave him alone now! RIP MJ!

deb famularo said...

So honored to be the owner of this beautiful piece. What a great tribute to one amazing artist made by another amazing artist! xOxO deb

Lezlei Ann Young said...

Wasn't that poem beautiful!!! What a fitting tribute by Maya.

xoxoxo

~*~Magpie's Nest said...

Oh my what a beautiful tribute both you and Maya Angelou have created.....sniff sniff
you've certainly touched my heart!