Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 14

All the times our laughter rang in summer, All the times the rivers sang our tune— Was there already sadness in the sunlight? Some stormy story waiting to be told? Where O where has the innocence gone? Where O where has it gone? Rains rolling down wash away my memory; Where O where has it gone? When I think of all the joys, the wonders we remember All the treasures we believed we’d never ever lose. Too many days gone by without their meaning, Too many darkened hours without their peace. Where O where has the innocence gone? Where O where has it gone? Vows we once swore, now it’s just this letting go, Where O where has it gone? Recitation VI In the days and weeks after Matthew’s death, many people came to the fence to pay homage and pray and grieve. The Fence (one week later) I have seen people come out here with a pocketknife and take a piece of the fence, like a relic, like an icon. —Rev. Stephen M. Johnson, Unitarian minister I keep still I stand firm I hold my ground while they lay down flowers and photos prayers and poems crystals and candles sticks and stones they come in herds they stand and stare they sit and sigh they crouch and cry some of them touch me in unexpected ways without asking permission and then move on but I don’t mind being a shrine is better than being the scene of the crime Recitation VII Matthew’s father made his statement to the court on November 5, 1999. Stars By the end of the beating, his body was just trying to survive. You left him out there by himself, but he wasn’t alone. There were his lifelong friends with him—friends that he had grown up with. You’re probably wondering who these friends were. First, he had the beautiful night sky with the same stars and moon that we used to look at through a telescope. Then, he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him one more time—one more cool, wonderful autumn day in Wyoming. His last day alive in Wyoming. His last day alive in the state that he always proudly called home. And through it all he was breathing in for the last time the smell of Wyoming sagebrush and the scent of pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the wind—the ever-present Wyoming wind—for the last time. He had one more friend with him. One he grew to know through his time in Sunday school and as an acolyte at St. Mark’s in Casper as well as through his visits to St. Matthew’s in Laramie. I feel better knowing he wasn’t alone. Stars across scattered the sky in blinking dismay unable being to help light years away Recitation VIII Matthew was left tied to the fence for almost 18 hours. In Need of Breath Matt: My heart Is an unset jewel Upon the tender night Yearning for its dear old friend The Moon. When the Nameless One debuts again Ten thousand facets of my being unfurl wings And reveal such a radiance inside I enter a realm divine— I too begin to sweetly cast light, Like a lamp, I cast light Through the streets of this World. My heart is an unset jewel Upon existence Waiting for the Friend’s touch. Tonight Tonight My heart is an unset ruby Offered bowed and weeping to the Sky. I am dying in these cold hours For the resplendent glance of God. My heart Is an unset jewel Upon the tender night My heart is an unset ruby Offered bowed and weeping to the Sky. Recitation IX Sheriff’s Deputy Reggie Fluty, the first to report to the scene, told Judy Shepard that as she ran to the fence she saw a large doe lying near Matt—as if the deer had been keeping him company all through the night. Deer Song Deer: A mist is over the mountain, The stars in their meadows upon the air, Your people are waiting below them, And you know there’s a gathering there. All night I lay there beside you, I cradled your pain in my care, We move through creation together, And we know there’s a welcoming there. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 110