Never the Same

     Too often, the deaths of even the most beautiful people are too soon forgotten: the deaths of people who did and were prepared to do marvelous things. It is never enough that their deaths, and, indeed, their lives, leave some lesson learned for their friends, foes, admirers, and acquaintances. It will never be enough that others learned from how they lived and how they died--nothing will ever be enough the the friends, the family, and the world that must go on. William Shakespeare said many things very similar to the following, including this: "So long as men can breathe and eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee[,]" and all are true. He also wrote this sonnet:

          Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
          Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
          But you shall shine more bright in these contents
          Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish time.
          When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
          And broils root out the work of masonry,
          Nor Mars his sword nowr war's quick fire shall burn
          The living record of your memory.
          'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
          Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
          Even in the eyes of all posterity
          That wear this world out to the ending doom.
               So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
               You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

     I do not claim to have been Aydin's lover as Shakespeare writes, or indeed, even his friend. He barely knew me--I would have been flattered if he knew my name. However, he touched my life--first when he gave his speech before Commissioner elections in Spring of 2009, and many times after that until I last saw him, dancing in the audience of my drama company's fall play on Friday, December 11, two days before he left us.
     This song... yes, I wrote it about Aydin, but it is not just about him. I ask that you remember all those who have touched you and gone, even those who may have gone without touching you individually, but those whose lives are not otherwise remembered, because the truth is that without them, we will never be the same.

Why did you go on home?

You didn't have to go,

but you left me alone,

and I can't accept you're gone.

How could you leave us here,

how could you disappear?

Oh boy we miss you dear,

and we can't believe you're gone.

You were just dancing there

feathers in your hair

I can still see you there

and I can't accept you're gone.

i didn't know you well, was never close

but I loved you just as well, even though

we rarely talked, you barely knew my name

I loved you just the same, almost the same

I didn't know you well, or your favorite color,

but I loved you just like I love any other;

we rarely talked, you barely knew my name,

but I'll never be the same, never the same.

I'll never be the same, never the same.

I saw you Friday night,

thought you looked alright,

knew you'd be alright,

now I cry because you're gone

I saw you Friday night,

I never thought that I

would ever, ever cry,

would turn to tears because you're gone

I liked the way that you danced,

you were your own kinda man,

we were your own biggest fans

a Bad Romance now that you're gone.

I didn't know you well or where you lived,

but I knew almost too well what you had to give;

we rarely talked, you barely knew my name,

but you left me just the same, almost the same

I didn't know you well or your favorite color

but I loved you just like I love any other

we rarely talked, you barely knew my name,

but I'll never be the same, never the same.

I'll never be the same, never the same.

Got to shut down my head,

so I can go to bed;

I know you'd laugh at that,

at that I don't believe you're dead.

You ran with a crazy crowd,

You sang your Gaga loud,

You left me without doubt

that we'll never be the same.

(For Aydin Salek, 12-14-1991 to 12-13-2009)