Friday, May 21, 2010

When Good Byes Are Forever

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Just over a hundred days ago, a very good friend to me and many others, Harris Mohamed, passed away.

Harris was a fiercely independent person. If we ever need to know a person with a mind of his own, he is one of them. Rules are for the faint-hearted, not for him. Many of us were not close to him during our time in school but we became closer after we left. It was just like each other was the only link left to that period a long time ago.

I kinda miss him. If you want an honest opinion, go ask him. If he pisses anyone around him, then he pisses anyone around him. He'll say what he meant, don't expect any sugar coatings or honey wraps around the words.

All of our common friends have have known him since we were 12 years old. He doted on his family, his sister, his brothers, his nephews and nieces.

The last time we saw him was two weeks before he left us. We never thought he would not be around 2 weeks later. We never thought we'd never hear his infectious laughter again, his harsh critiques will never linger in our heads again, his honest compliments will never ring in our ears again. We were rudely made aware of our mortality.

Somehow, only W H Auden's poem seemed appropriate for this moment........

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

It was like we took our friends for granted. We never thought that one would be taken away from us so quickly. In the blink of an eye. He was just a friend to many, he never needed to be more than that. Now all that is left is the memory of a friend. The real person is gone forever. There is still many of us left, but all of many could never make up for the loss of one. Not him, not the ones before him.

Semuga Allah mencucuri rahmatnya keatas hamba-hambanya, Azland Adnan, Rose Azimah Abdul Aziz, Maulud Hashim dan Harris Mohamed......

Amin.

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