We Had Him

This poem was written by Dr. Maya Angelou for the memorial service yesterday. It was absolutely beautifully written, but what does she write that isn't.

We Had Him
By Dr. Maya Angelou

Beloved, now we know that we know nothing
Now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind
Without notice our dear love can escape our dotting embrace
Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon
In the instant we learned that Michael is gone, we know nothing
No clock can tell our time and no ocean can rush our tide
With abrupt absence of our treasure though we are many, each of us is achingly alone – percingly alone
Only when we confess our confusion, can we remember that he was a gift to us
And we did have him
He came to us from the Creator
Trailing creativity in abundance
Despite the anguish of life, he was sheathed in mother love and family love and survived
And did not more than that he thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style
We had him
Whether we knew who he was or did not know
He was ours and we were his
We had him
Beautiful delighting our eyes
He raked his hat slant over his brow and took a pose on his toes for all of us
And we laughed and stomped our feet for him
We were enchanted with his passion, because he held nothing
He gave us all he had been given
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, Guyana’s Black Star Square in Johannesburg and Pittsburg
In Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael Jackson
But we do know we had him and we are the world.