The Quiet Of A Stillness

A dear friend of mine passed away this week. It was expected but still, the finality of it hits you all the same. My relationship with Jesse was officially his son in law but as my father passed away when I was young, he took on the role of a surrogate father figure as well as a friend.

I recall the first time I met Jesse driving up in a red Cadillac for his first visit to Louisiana. Man, I was scared but from the beginning his good nature and inquisitive appetite were insatiable. I remember him eating crawfish for the first time right off the table covered with newspaper and how much he enjoyed it. 

He savored life to the fullest and like a chameleon adapted to change especially in his later years as he had to quit driving, use a walker and then only a wheelchair. Even not being able to walk he conquered with the use of a red scooter just like that red Cadillac.

He traveled a lot and brought back stories of other cultures and lands. I remember one time on his return from Mexico he left some CD’s with me; Mozart, Beethoven, Shubert and much more. I listened and fell in love with classical music, a debt I could never repay. His favorite piece was Wagner’s Isolde and Tristan.

I also saw him a few weeks ago in the hospital, frail and incoherent which would be the last time I saw him but I refuse to think of him in that way.

So as a remembrance and solace for the rest of us, I have a poem I wrote a few years ago but with a few added changes. It’s dedicated to all who mourn and all who remember with a bit of joy a life worth celebrating.

JC

Farewell Andromeda

Deep inside an old well
A perfect mansion exist
In the quiet of a stillness
At the heart of this world.

A good man happened by
And he thought to move in
But for reasons unknown
He couldn’t stay long.

Though he tried at will
To understand all the rules
Is my home in this world,
Or the building next door?

So he asked just one question
To the goddess of the well
Can one foot stay in
While the other stays out?

She said with a grin
Don’t you realize, my friend
You did not ever leave
You just couldn’t see
You will always be
In the quiet of a stillness
At the heart of this world.

The Myth of Andromeda

Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia of Aethiopia…her mother foolishly brags about her daughter’s beauty over the Nereids, the daughters of the sea-god Nereus. To punish her for such arrogance Poseidon, god of the sea sends Cetus, a sea monster to destroy Aethiopia.

The king consults the Oracle of Apollo who tells him there will be no respite unless his daughter’s sacrificed to the monster. Andromeda’s tied to a rock and just before the sea monster attacks, Perseus who is coming home after having slain the Gorgon Medusa, destroys the monster.

Andromeda and Perseus get married, have seven sons and two daughters and live happily ever after.

Upon her death, Andromeda’s placed amongst the stars in the constellation Andromeda located in the Andromeda Galaxy … In the quiet of a stillness, at the heart of this world… Farewell!

Who is the goddess of the well but Andromeda herself?

©jc2017-9

*Photos by Pixabay