Seventeen years ago, you departed this earth;
ninety-nine years ago, today, Grandma gave birth
to you. Thirty-two years later, you adopted me
into your vast and much extended family,
and its long, ancient, illustrious history,
impervious to managed timeclocks' tyranny.
Through you, your sister's Roman Catholicity,
turned my soul, later, to Orthodox theology.
For Christmas, in that distant year, nineteen sixty-three,
three months into kindergarten (I was then five),
you gave me a plastic figure, Frankenstein,
which seven years hence, brought my joy in books alive.
My seventeenth year led to a real discovery
of the glories of epic and lyric poetry.
By that time, we both knew that I was different
in who attracted me, by nature not choice (choice the preferred
explanation among haters). On our street, nosy, malign,
and bad actors happily heaped prejudiced blame
upon you for the patterns of my given nature
(for that, they used crude, vulgar nomenclature),
and because I felt quite well justified to want
a screen name (having come hate my given first name---
much mocked in school---so I sought new identity),
I was led, July tenth, 'Seventy-six, to a handle
which I embraced very enthusiastically:
without second thought or hesitation, I became
Starwatcher and, then much later, Starward.
Then that same summer, some of your words gave me a lift
when you acknowledged how much, how deeply, I loved BlueShift.
Now, the Mass, that ancient Liturgy,
along with my blessed coerulescent Rosary
once again provide assurance and certainty
of meeting you in Christ's constellated Eternity.
"Jerry"
fka as "Fairy Jerry"
nka
Januarian
A tribute worthy of the one
A tribute worthy of the one who helped shape the best parts of you and, not surprisingly, looms vibrant and prominent over your life. As he waits for you in Heaven, I'm sure he is proud of the person you've become.
It was particularly heartwarming how he offered understanding in the midst of the cruel storm of condemnation you received for simply loving who you loved. Your father was (is) a rare and progressive soul: an anchor in the tempest.
As you expressed with majestic style and stately eloquence, his memory illuminates your path until you both meet again.
Now I feel like I should apologize for my absence. Please understand that I have been particularly busy helping my son and navigating new challenges in my life. Hopefully I'll find more time in the future to be active in this wonderful community.
Infinite blessings.
Thank you for that
Thank you for that superlatice comment, and for visiting the poem.
Please forgive my brevity tonight, I am undergoing catheter failure, and its effects are draining me away (no pun intended).
Coerulescent
I'm deeply troubled to know
I'm deeply troubled to know that. Prayers going out for you immediately.