The grand finale – Part I

If you thought this post is about my own finale, you’d be right. Those of you who hoped it was a teasing headline about something else may be disappointed, but hopefully not saddened. It’s not a gloomy post, I promise, but I’ll warn you now, it is rather long.

In part, I’m revisiting an earlier post on my other blog, Living with Questions, where I asked what plans, wishes, music, poems, etc. you want for your final farewell… or if you just want to leave it to others to choose?

As I said in that post, “I know this is upsetting for some of you to read, but for me it’s a reality, that although I can’t quite fully comprehend or feel, I can at least talk about plainly.”

Item no. 16 on my List for Living is to “Plan my burial ceremony, find the perfect burial place, choose the tree I want planted”. So this post is the ceremony part of that. I’ve not yet chosen the tree or the location.

One thing I want to say at this point is that I don’t think so much about dying these days. Being 17 months post-transplant and in pretty good health (for someone with myeloma!), I’m much more focused on life. Nonetheless, it’s still likely that the myeloma will make a reappearance at some point and that my life will be shortened as a result. And even if I do live into my 90′s and simply die of old age, at least I’ll have everything in place.

I may have to leave the order to someone else, but here are the songs I would like:

Is That All There Is?, by  Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, sung by Peggy Lee

I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.
I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face as he gathered me up
in his arms and raced through the burning building out to the pavement.
I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a fire?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is

And when I was 12 years old, my father took me to the circus, the greatest show on earth.
There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears
And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.
And as I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle
I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don’t know what, but when it was over,
I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a circus?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is

Then I fell in love, with the most wonderful boy in the world.
We would take long walks by the river or just sit for hours gazing into each other’s eyes.
We were so very much in love.
Then one day, he went away. And I thought I’d die – but I didn’t. 
And when I didn’t I said to myself, “Is that all there is to love?”

Is that all there is, is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing

I know what you must be saying to yourselves.
If that’s the way she feels about it why doesn’t she just end it all?
Oh, no. Not me. I’m in no hurry for that final disappointment.
For I know just as well as I’m standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I’m breathing my last breath, I’ll be saying to myself,

Is that all there is, is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball
If that’s all there is

This song was the first song I knew had to be on my list. It’s probably my all time ever favourite song. It’s this song that, if I was on Desert Island discs, would be the one I would have to save from the waves. I love how it so perfectly swings between absolute depressive despair and the high of living life to the full because that’s all there is. This song above all others keeps me sane and able to laugh at life. I hope it will have an equally uplifting effect on those who come to mourn my death and celebrate my life.

The next one continues in a similar vein and has always had a profound effect on me. I was very fortunate to grow up listening to a wide range of music from all over the world, long before World Music became such a familiar genre. This particular version is beautifully sung by two of the most amazing, powerful singers: Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez. It’s written by Violetta Parra, who was an inspiring Chilean woman, poet, singer and artist, who reinvented Chilean folk music.

Gracias a La Vida, by Violetta Parra, sung by Joan Baez & Mercedes Sosa

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros, que cuando los abro,
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y día, grillos y canarios,
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario;
Con el las palabras que pienso y declaro:
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados;
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos,
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano,
Cuando miro al bueno tan lejos del malo,
Cuando miro al fondo de tus ojos claros

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto,
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto,
Y el canto de ustedes que es mi mismo canto,
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

Translation:

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It gave me two eyes, that when I open them,
Perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the sky above, its starry depths
And amongst the multitudes, the man I love

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It has given me an ear that in all its scope
Records night and day, crickets and canaries,
Hammers, turbines, bricks and storms,
And the tender voice of my beloved

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It has given me sound and the alphabet;
Along with the words that I think and express:
Mother, friend, brother, and light illuminating
The path of the soul that I love.

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It has given me the march of my tired feet;
With them I have walked through cities and puddles
Across beaches and deserts, mountains and plains,
And to your house, your street and your garden.

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It gave me a heart that beats against its cage
When I look at the fruit of the human brain
When I see the good, so far from the bad,
When I look into the depths of your clear eyes

Thanks to life that has given me so much
It has given me laughter and it has given me tears
So I can distinguish between joy and pain,
The two materials that form my song,
And the song of you all that is the same as mine,
And the song of everyone that is my own song
Thanks to life that has given me so much

And another song of thanks for those who have loved and cared for me throughout my life, who have picked me up when I’ve been down, who have cared for me when I’ve been ill and heard me when I’ve shouted or just whispered:

Thank You for Your Love, by Antony & the Johnsons

Oh thank you for your love
Thank you for your love
When all is falling in the seizure of pain
Oh thank you for your love

Thank you for your love
Thank you for your love
When I was lost in the dark blackness
Oh thank you for your love

I want to thank you, oh
I want to thank you, oh
I want to thank you, oh

I want to thank you, oh
Thank you

Thank you for your love
Thank you for your love
When my mind was broken into a thousand pieces
Oh thank you for your love

I want to thank you, oh
I want to thank you, oh
I want to thank you, oh
I want to thank you, oh

Thank you
I thank you

At this point, I feel torn… I want one of two Leonard Cohen songs, but I can’t quite decide which. The choice is between Lullaby and Come Healing. I get pretty sure about one and then I hear the other and change my mind. I think it will probably be Come Healing, but it does sound a little bit like a hymn, which bothers me a tad. But hey, it’s a beautiful song – so poignant and I love the line “O, longing of the arteries to purify the blood” – so apt for a myeloma patient! Maybe at some point, if there’s time, Lullaby could be played too for good measure? Here’s the link, in case you want to have a listen: http://youtu.be/lgjwDL9_XXI.

Come Healing, by Leonard Cohen

O, gather up the brokenness
Bring it to me now
The fragrance of those promises
You never dared to vow

The splinters that you carried
The cross you left behind
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy
In arbitrary space
And none of us deserving
Of cruelty or the grace

O, solitude of longing
Where love has been confined
Come healing of the body
Come healing of the mind

O, see the darkness yielding
That tore the light apart
Come healing of the reason
Come healing of the heart

O, troubledness concealing
An undivided love
The heart beneath is teaching
To the broken heart above

And let the heavens falter
Let the earth proclaim
Come healing of the altar
Come healing of the name

O, longing of the branches
To lift the little bud
O, longing of the arteries
To purify the blood

And let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb

O let the heavens hear it
The penitential hymn
Come healing of the spirit
Come healing of the limb.

And finally, because I adore Nina Simone’s young voice here – so beautifully sensual and tender, it’s my favourite version of this Beatles song:

Here Comes the Sun, by George Harrison, sung by Nina Simone

 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right

Little darling, its been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since you’ve been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it’s all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since you’ve been here
Little darling, its been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it seems like years since you’ve been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it’s all right

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since you’ve been clear

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it’s all right, it’s all right

If you can feel the sun on your face, then you know that it really is and will be all right. I do hope it’s a sunny day, but controlling the weather on the day of my burial, is a little OTT even for me.

Having given it some thought and listening to the tracks again as I’ve been uploading the videos, I think ‘Gracias a la Vida’ has to be the final song as I want something celebratory to finish on.

There are two poems I would like read out…

This one is just because I loved it when I first encountered it and even now still find it confusing and thought-provoking. It’s the only poem I’ve ever known by heart, because I learned it once for a personal development workshop, so it also reminds me of my own journey in confidence and self belief.

No One So Much As You, by Edward Thomas

And this one by Mary Oliver, because it’s perfect. It encompasses and acknowledges many feelings that I have had in my life, that are part of being alive: being scared, being in despair, being lonely, in pain or regretting things you’ve done. It acknowledges that we each have our own unique qualities and creativity. Just knowing that when we take a step back and see the bigger picture, it’s all ok and we’re a tiny yet precious part of something much bigger and the world will keep on turning.

Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver

Then for something a little different (and no, before you ask, it’s not a CPAP machine!)…