HOLES by Lillian Morrsion: A Poem in Memory of a Dear Friend

Dr. Stephen D. Hayes



I wrote a post on Wednesday about my close friend Dr. Stephen Hayes who passed away last Saturday. We had a wonderful memorial celebration of his life yesterday. It was held at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Steve loved the ocean and kept his boat moored in Marblehead Harbor. My husband and I always spent the Fourth of July holiday with Steve and his family and some close friends on his boat. We’d eat fresh lobsters, drink wine and margaritas, watch fireworks--and spend a lot of time laughing. Steve was always the ultimate host. He was also one of the most intelligent and funniest people that I have ever met. My long friendship with him enriched my life.

Here's a picture I took from Steve's boat

one Fourth of July a few years ago:



Steve was a special man who was well loved by all those who knew him. His absence will be felt by many. I will miss him more than words can say.

Lillian Morrison's poem HOLES expresses best the emptiness that I feel inside me at this time.


HOLES
by Lillian Morrison

Strangest of gaps
their goneness-
mother, father, loved friends


the black holes
of the astronomer
are not more mysterious


this kind of hole
will not be filled
with candle flames
or even a thousand thoughts


the hole is inside us
it brims over
is empty and full at once.

You can find the poem HOLES in Lillian Morrison’s book Overheard in a Bubble Chamber and Other Science Poems; in A Time to Talk: Poems of Friendship, selected by Myra Cohn Livingston; and in This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort, selected by Georgia Heard.

Steve & His Wife Clare

at our 40th High School Reunion

in 2004



Steve and Clare at Mittersill.

Mike and I used to ring in the New Year

with them in the White Mountains

of New Hampshire.

Steve and Clare

visiting with Mike and me

on Westport Island in Maine.



Mike and I were so happy

that Steve was able to come

to our daughter Sara's wedding

last July.

This is how I will remember Steve!

Dear Friend,

you are gone now--but you will never be forgotten!

********************

Toby Speed has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Writer’s Armchair.