Everyone was shocked.
It is the response to the sudden,
tragic death of a celebrity.
And then there is the celebration
of the life of the celebrity.
All bottles uncorked;
no expense too great
to show respect
and to celebrate.
All the stars came out
and were there.
What about all the other deaths,
the unacknowledged
except in the hearts
of those whose grief
is so hard to bear?
For them, all the stars
have come out
and are there.
“Stars are the windows of heaven
Where Angels peek through.
Up in the sky they keep an eye
On kids like me and you…
Their teardrops are the rain…
They are smiling and they shine again.
Stars are the windows of heaven
Where Angels peek through.”
My dad sang that song
and then he, too, was gone.
But the celebration of his life went on.
The angels cried and laughed for him,
and all the other children, too.