Flower garden and a poem... in loving memory of my wife, Sara Tan

Overlooking Taipei City basin and distant mountain ranges in the horizon, my beloved wife rests in peace with her Bunny & friends in our camellia tree and orchid flower garden in Taiwan Yang Ming Mountain cemetery..

Nearly six years have past since Sara's departure... and I'm still clinging on to her shadows with all my heart.

============================================

About Sara:


When Sara was alive, she wanted to raise a Labrador pup, an English short hair cat, and a hamster... I'd promised her we will... that day never came.

I still remember a time she would suddenly tear up thinking about Mumu, a cat she looked after for a friend in New York... she would cry reminiscing her pet hamster, Peace, which she had to leave behind in Taiwan to study abroad...

Once, Sara sat next to me on the airplane watching Quill, a heart-warming movie about a guide dog and its blind master... there were moments during the film Sara completely broke down into heavy pouring tears... I quietly leaned against Sara, embracing her in my arms... she did not spare my shirt from being drenched in her tears.

My beloved acted strong with outsiders, yet deep down she had an extremely fragile heart... her softest spot reserved for her teddy bears... since young, she surrounded herself with an army of teddies in her bedroom... her circle of friends sat cozily side-by-side around her room, erecting a wall of warmth & security... her dream home was one that had a tall library shelved with books on one side, and categorized stuffed animals on the other...

Yet, Sara's most precious confidant was her Bunny.

Bunny was the only stuffed animal bunny she herself assembled at Build-a-Bear Workshop... in addition to clothing, Sara poured life and soul into Bunny, giving him a boyishly shy voice by gently raising her own in lieu... whenever we chatted over the phone, Bunny would come visit (in Sara's adorably improvised "chi chi chi chi chi" running sound effect)... he would cut into our conversation just to say "hi" and nervously run off...

When I come home from work, fumbling for my keys outside the door, I would hear Sara dart towards the other side, leaving her shadow underneath the door... suddenly the door would burst open with no one in sight... Bunny's ears, followed by his entire head, would then slowly creep out into view... revealing himself as the sneaky culprit who had opened the door to welcome me home...

Bunny would comfort Sara whenever she felt down... she would squeeze Bunny tightly in her arms and cry... whenever Sara felt happy, she would whisper into Bunny's ear with the most beautiful smile basking on her face... Bunny would listen to all her concerns and secrets while understandably nod in response.

Sara would never leave Bunny behind when we traveled to Europe, China, and Bali Island for our honeymoon... on the airplane, he would even sit in the passenger seat beside her... on one surprising plane ride, Bunny was squashed as a pillow between her sleeping head and the thin oval-shaped window that separated the heavens.

Bunny symbolized her son she never had... through Bunny, she naturally revealed her strong maternal instincts... Sara would have made a wonderful, loving mother.

Bunny was cremated alongside Sara.

============================================

Sincere message to all:

Over 10 trillion cells living in your body have previously assembled and divided for 3.8 billion years in an unbroken lineage of life... begetting transient embodiments of form which now encapsulates you... care for your cells as they have cared for you... nourish these building blocks of life with healthy vegetables and fruits... exercise often... cherish this life and the precious lives of those you hold dear... savor every deep breath of life, every moment of the present... a moment that has taken eons to manifest, and an instant to fade.

============================================

~ lyric ~

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle, gentle autumn rain

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
When you awake in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft, soft starlight, starlight at night

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep


(song based on the original poem "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep," written in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Frye)

~ music credit ~

Song Title: "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep"
Singer: Ben Crawley with Joseph Platt
Composer: Robert Prizeman
Non-profit Choir Group: Libera
Official Website: www.libera.org.uk

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• bereavement
• mourn
• grief
• death
• loss
• healing
• spiritual
• 丧亲
• 哀悼