Tonight, under this star-lit sky


We grieve,


as you leave


To take your place in our history.





Each day you spent with us


Are like droplets of mercury,


that come together


in a crucible of shared memory.





You go, and as you depart,


you carry within you a part


of what is the best in you,


and what was once the best in us.





You came to us like raw meteorites,


Heaven-sent, children from the sky.


We burnished you,


We polished you


And now return you there,


as stars,


our firmament to beautify.





10 April 2009