Dawnwriter
I was going through my emails to clean up my Inbox when I came across emails from a very dear friend. She passed away about five years ago but I still keep the folder where all our exchange messages are stored.
Reading those emails brought back so many memories. I never had a chance to meet her in person but it seems to me as if I had known her all my life. I had met her online. I commented on an article written by her. She responded and we had struck an immediate friendship.
She was a very beautiful soul. Though I had never met her personally, but in her emails, she always came across as a very vibrant, cheerful and friendly person. We shared the love of good books, murder mysteries and good food and she was always recommending new books for me to read. The news of her death greatly shocked me. The fact that I will never be able to send her an email or receive one in return greatly saddens me to this day.
I truly regret that I did not know how ill she was during the last days of her life. She has passed away too young and is sorely missed by everyone who knew her. In my school days, I had read a poem by Alfred Tennyson but after losing this friend, I truly understood the grief that this poem contains.
Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the fisherman’s boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanish’d hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!
Break, break, break
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
May her soul rest in peace. Ameen
Your words are very touching!!!
Your words are very touching, Dawn Writer. These days, many of us strike up true and deep friendships across the world via the internet. It is particularly challenging to cope with the death of such a friend, as the normal social channels and contexts for dealing with a friend’s death are lacking. We may feel that we have not been able to mourn in a meaningful way. And of course, death is the greatest challenge in all contexts. I feel for you.
Thank you Norman. You are right about forming deep friendships via the internet. These friendships are usually based on a common interest that brings us together. It is the online friends who understand the joy of writing online or pain of a website shutting down or the fun of interacting with people across the world.
Once an online friend from Australia donated $100 for flood relief to a Pakistani charity. When I thanked her, she said, I don’t know any Pakistani personally but I know you and it made me realize how our online behavior and words make an impact on other people. Sorry just rambling…
The passing of a special person makes us very lost. Yet I believe that Divine Love meets all life in all dimensions. She must be happy on the other side of the dimension, even though we feel sad on this side.
Beautifully said, Albert.Thank you.
You’re most welcome, my friend
Good and sincere friends are God’s true blessings indeed.
Well said, Nadeem.