“Many of us have encountered people who have had similar experiences reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or Lewis’s Perelandra. Often they have experienced something profound while reading these fantasies, but are at a loss to describe it. All they seem to know is that they were part of the music while the music lasted” (The Christian Imagination, “The Well at the World’s End: Poetry, Fantasy, and the Limits of the Expressible” by Robert Siegel, 354).

You were part of the music

All the sweet while it lasted.

 

You entered into

That indefinable part of my soul

Where the melody plays,

And gently gave me

Your harmony.

 

Your words

Ignited my imagination,

Lit up my lost hopes,

And danced with my dreams.

 

You made me come

More vividly alive than before,

And I felt more whole

Because of what you gave.

 

At first, it was a quiet refrain.

But soon the dynamics grew,

And it became a chorus

With powerful beauty.

 

You were part of the music.

You showed me new lyrics,

New possibilities, new discoveries –

And yours became my favorite song.

 

You were part of my life

For only a brief time,

But there was a reason –

And it was to make the music

Clearer and more distinct than before.

 

Perhaps one day,

Someone will come along

Who stays not just for a song

Or part of a movement –

But who remains

For a lifelong symphony –

Creating new melodies

And replaying old favorites

Until we’re old and gray,

Humming and swaying together

In perfect rhythm and harmony.

 

But until that day,

I will be thankful that

You came along

And were part of the music

For as long as it lasted.

 

Because that music

Was what I needed

To gently serenade me

Out of the darkest gloom

And into the brightest sunlight.

 

Thank you for your music.

And thank you for understanding

The melody of my heart

When it felt like no one else did.

 

Photo by Joel Wyncott on Unsplash.