December the first - for those who live with it
A story to tell
He was sent home to spend the last of his days from France. One cannot remember what he was imprisoned for, but when they found out he had it he was offered compassionate leave.
As time seemed to run out, he dedicated himself to writing about his life, his loves and what would have been – as a computer buff, one could see that his job was made the more complicated by an unintuitive word processor called Microsoft Word 1.0.
He did tell his tale, just before he slipped into the memory of those who once knew him – today brings that back to mind.
An opera beyond a soap opera
The most jovial and effervescent man he was, the quintessential opera queen, he had well over 5,000 classical and operatic albums and had written an encyclopaedia of opera.
He had enough insight to suggest that Maria Callas was not so much of what people made her out to be.
When we gathered for his 38th, one was oblivious of the fact that we were not to celebrate another because one opened the pages of the Evening Standard to read of an interview he had given just a week before he slipped in the memory of those who once knew him – today brings that back to mind.
No eclipse darkened the day
In the week that Europe saw the total eclipse, was there a chance that love might blossom or not? Infatuation enveloped the minds of the two who thought there was a future but neither was aware of how long it might be.
Documentaries of one who suffered like it was the last night and that happened 4 times over many years – 22 years on, it looked like a sentence then but the no-hopers of yesteryears are living prosperously today – they have not slipped into memory, rather their fellowship is renewed in friendship and assurance that a future always exists for those who seek to live and love life.
The news of hope
And so the news came as years now add up to 6 and much more, and what was expected was not what was observed; anger, denial, shame, fear, frustration, guilt, despair, sadness, depression, confusion and dejection gave way to one critical emotion required on hearing such news – Hope.
Nurse was empathetic beyond measure as he cried tears and the hearer of the news consoled him – a time has come when if you heard the news, it was no more a personal death sentence but an opportunity to make life worth living.
They go on to do great things and no one is any wiser about the great burden they carry as they make light of that to concentrate on doing even greater things.
They will live
Then around the world, the urgency to act is caught up in the politics of complacency, but thankfully, we would no more be prescribed beetroot but tablets that help mother give child life, that helps child avoid the orphanage and lets the people continue to be productive members of society.
We shall not be identified by labels of separation and pariah, but live to celebrate anniversary after anniversary of those who live with a sentence but not one of death.
We shall see more days
Today is the twentieth, it would not be long till the fortieth – those who have slipped into memory encourage us to be heroes and those that remain teach us to understand our humanity even more so.
We shall not suffer in silence, our footprints shall be etched in the tablets of reckoning even though the sands of time blow over them – when the tablets are recovered, they who decipher the code of ages past would learn that they did not all perish – hope kept them alive and they were alive with hope.
Today is a day to celebrate hope. Hope, believe and live.
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