you are the base of who we’ve grown into
the date’s arriving quickly now, and I think of you more and more
how could I not? I carry you with me
not just in my mind and not just in my heart
no, I carry you underneath my skin,
you are scar tissue that I’m proud of
your song came on today at the perfect time
and I’ll think of it as a hello from up above
and I’m sorry we never got to say a real goodbye
but maybe a see you later is easier to bear
and I’m sorry you’ll never know how I hold your art forever with me,
like a painting on a canvas,
in a frame and on display
I am like a museum to your memory
and I am honored to carry on your legacy,
I am proud to show the world a piece of your heart
and I am proud to be the messenger of your talent to the world that never got to know you
I hope you’re looking down at this ragtag group of kids
we’ve gone our separate ways, but you are the invisible thread that connects us all
I hope you’re proud of this legacy you’ve left behind with us to carry on,
I hope you understand all the ways you’ve changed our lives
I try to see the world through your eyes,
maybe that’s why I bear your art, to better remind me how
to better help see the world the way you would
in the classroom, you were teaching
I’ll never forget your passion as you spoke, your humor
I’ll never forget the fire in your eyes or the way you’d smile and laugh
I won’t forget the art you showed us
I will tell them of your ghost
I feel raw when I talk about you to people who didn’t know you
but it’s a raw I need to feel
because you should be talked about,
every story, every memory is something that should be carried on
I hope to help your spirit reach everyone I know
with your friends alive and talking, that was you
I still remember how they spoke of you
with tears down their face and sadness in their voices
how every story sounded just about right for you
how every story made me feel just that littlest bit closer to you
because there was always that wall that couldn’t be broken down
or maybe it could’ve, if we only had more time
well, I saw it in your movements, and even though you never knew it, well I knew
I was the quiet one, and the observant one
I think you knew this about me
and I knew, the days you were in pain
and I knew, when it started going sideways
and I think I turned a blind eye because I wanted to be wrong
you had me worried, so worried that this would last
I guess I have to say that I’m glad your pain wasn’t prolonged,
at the very least, I hope it happened quickly and I hope you didn’t suffer in the end
but now I’m learning, learning that this will pass
and I know, in my heart, that your life was full
and you lived it the way you wanted,
I am at peace knowing you lived out some of your biggest dreams
you said, “go out and live your journey”
and I will because you spent a year teaching us how
because you spent your life living as an example
I never cared much about Machu Picchu,
but I’ll travel that far just to see what you saw
to France, to China, to the oceans and the mountain peaks
I want to experience the world as fully as you did
into the play of fate, I must go