In Bonoboville’s sacred glow,
Where pleasure meets the soul’s deep flow,
A queen of thought,
of touch,
of grace-
Susan danced through time and space.
With Maximillian by her side,
Her princely muse,
her cosmic guide.
They built a world of velvet fire,
Of truth,
of love,
of bold desire.

She taught us joy with ethics laced,
A hedonism finely placed-
Not reckless flame,
But mindful spark,
A light that warms,
Not leaves a mark.
Her voice,
a balm,
Her mind,
a star,
Her spirit stretched both near and far.
From Yale’s halls to HBO’s stage,
She penned new truths on every page.

A chariot drawn by soul and will,
She rode through valleys deep and still.
Plato’s allegory in motion-
Reason,
passion,
deep devotion.
Her reins held firm,
Her heart unbound,
She found divinity all around.
In laughter,
lust,
and sacred tears,
She journeyed through the mortal years.

Now Maximillian walks the skies,
A prince among the stars that rise.
Yet, Susan, radiant remains-
A phoenix in love’s gentle flames.
She mourns,
She sings,
She still creates,
She opens wide the velvet gates.
Her style-
Bonafide,
Unique-
A language only angels speak.

So, here’s to you,
Dr. Suzy bold,
With stories fierce and wisdom gold.
You’ve shown us how the soul can play,
And how to love,
And lose,
And stay.
Your life-
A canvas,
Wild and true,
Painted in every vibrant hue.
And though your better half’s wings have grown back, and he has flown,
You walk with grace,
And not alone.

P.S. If you have the time, read the Allegory of the Chariot – if you haven’t already. XOXO

I can imagine you have strong grief and mixed emotions. The first year is probably the hardest. After my husband died in 2004 I had deep grieving and I had to raise my son & daughter by myself. I went to grieving classes for several years and it helped me a lot!

You and your ‘co-star’ gave us a wonderful eulogy/performance; impressive, engaging, moving, uplifting. Max would have loved it! And he would have so enjoyed playing his usual supporting role to his leading lady.

Yes, today’s reality, even in the midst of a rather momentous mark in personal time for you, is no doubt strewn with the cold ashes of what is not. And tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will, no doubt, reflect these cold, hard facts.

But hopefully there will be many, many moments that rise above the ashes, where Max is ‘reborn’ in radiant memory, in kind thoughts, in warm washes of love and thankfulness for what was and what still is. When things once more rhyme and make sense, however briefly, like an old, familiar song of youth that makes us young again.

As I mentioned, just hang in there and try to stay alive until you can truly feel alive once more. Who knows if that’s possible. Nothing in this life is guaranteed, but we need little lies, small bursts of poetic expression and feeling to push us along to that unseen, unknown place around the bend. Sorry for the old trekker’s image; after all, we are who we are and are best served, I think, when we stay true to that…

So thanks again for asking Tiya and I to share in those beautiful moments of passage. You did Max proud, you did yourself proud and everyone who was there is the better for it.

Farewell captain Max