"If I could save time in a bottle..."

We never get over the shock of a young person dying.

Jannelle Arvelaez had just turned 16.

The students at Lehigh Senior High are grieving the loss of this young woman.  My heart breaks for them.

When I was a sophomore in high school, a young man I knew, also 16, died when he was walking down the road at night and a drunk driver knocked him into the ditch, leaving him to die. He was found the next day by kids waiting for the school bus. 

We just never know when tragedy will strike.  It is difficult, surreal, and a reminder of our own mortality.

In our best moments we know it is a reminder that we need to hug each other tighter, love each other more.

It is a healing thought, and what I have to offer the students from LSHS.

Along with poetry.  And music.  And art.

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

By John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Song (for Bryan):  Time in a Bottle  (with lyrics)

Time in a Bottle (with awesome visuals)

Note: unfortunately, I was unable to find a version that would play on mobile devices.  I've listed the lyrics below.

 

The Little Stream by Vincent van Gogh

Lyrics to "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce 

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day
Till Eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with