Escaped
I met him on Twitter when he told me he liked my (previous) blog. We became friends who never met, who shared the urgency and need to create, who related on sensitive topics such as complex families, interpersonal relationships, the culture clashes of everyday life. I read his online magazine from the day of its beginning, not because he had become my friend, or because I drew inspiration from his bravery, but because he had an eye for art. He had a way of cutting through all the drivel and finding the jewel. He was an artist who appreciated other people’s art, who didn’t need to be constantly gratified by people only appreciating his work. He was an essayist who spoke passionately about topics such as alienation and community. He was a poet whose main goal was to reach people, not get money or praise from them. He was a friend, on whom I did not check until it was too late. Rest in Peace, Lethe. Your greatest gift, it seems, was being able to inspire complete strangers into speaking their words. We will miss you like hell.
the pleasures are fleeting,
on some days you’re wondering
if they even exist
but in the slow station
of all our lives, a moment of being
comes and goes, lingers for awhile
out of a plateau, pleasures rise
this wondrous hot spring
fills you with momentary delight
- Chris Al-Aswad, 1979 - 2010. Too soon
