Thanks to Mathias, Ralph, John, Annu and Dr. Kannan for sharing their thoughts and feelings and to the rest for being around with your positive spirit and support. And to Ram and Apsara for bearing with me while I went back and forth (forgetting this and that) for the very lovely video they prepared for the memorial.
In between the sobs and all, I shared a poem that was sent to me by a friend just soon after Soeren passed away, and its one I have read over the grave twice. Sharing here with you.
Do not stand at my grave and weep – Mary Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am ...in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.
And this was the best sharing for the day, he would have enjoyed it and from someone he had a lot of regard for, my cousin Dharmini.
Let’s all be merry and cheery,
For on the 25th of February, 1959
In the beautiful land of Denmark.
Twas the day a woman gave birth,
And God’s amazing gift to arrive on Earth,
That gift, they say,
Came in the form of a boy that day,
A boy who soon become a man,
Then to Malaysia he came to land.
The day he met our Gayathry,
That was the day he set her free,
Oh we’d never before seen her that happy,
When we saw she’d found her soulmate,
We knew this was destined, this was fate.
One fine day in 2005,
She brought this amazing person into my life,
As the intros were exchanged, I felt, there was something strange,
About this person I just met,
Yeah I know, I haven’t mentioned this yet.
The way he made us part of his whole,
I knew then that he was a kindred soul,
He is a person that we would all cherish,
Though God’s will unfortunately caused him to perish,
But I think that’s only because,
God missed him too, felt his loss.
He brought happiness to us all,
To our Gayathry the most of all,
Even in the most darkest hour,
He’d smile and nothing would be sour,
Hope and positiveness were the cement of his fort,
He was always very generous, giving lots of support,
He would help any creature that ever walked the Earth,
He made the world a happy place with his kindness and his mirth.
And though I never knew him that well,
He put lots of things in this empty shell (my head).
He thought me how to live with a smile,
And that I should make my life worthwhile,
To be positive even in the darkest,
And most important, to live life to the fullest.
I wish I’d get to know him more,
But sadly, I can’t, he’s not here anymore,
I think I speak for all when I say,
Thank you God, for letting him come for a stay,
Thank you for letting us meet this man,
Who changed peoples’ lives and did the best he can.
He was a great man, so we claim,
But I think I forgot to mention his name,
He is the kind, the ever-heartwarming,
Our very own Søeren Varming.
May you rest in peace and we will never forget a great man like you.
By: Dharmini V. Devan Nair
