Speechless
His movements defied gravity. His music moved people. His lyrics stirred spirits. And at one point or another, he left us at a loss for words.
While it is true that I barely knew the real him, he has been a big part of my growing up years. I only realized this a few days after his death, when his songs awoken memories sleeping inside me. His old records, cassette tapes, and videos had their corresponding tugs at my heart.
We've seen the Icon through the years. The black shoes with white socks, tailored fit pants, that sequined glove, a little shape-shifting nose, and his fading from black to white were all under the spotlight for decades. If we look beyond all these, we would see a human being deeper and greater than the physical strangeness.
We've heard the Humanitarian embedded in melody. His lyrics asked us to move, to change, to begin with ourselves, and to heal. In between those distinct high cries of ooow and shamone, he asked us to stop wars and fend for ourselves. If we listen very well, we would hear him calling us to live with love, passion, and compassion with one another.
We've enjoyed the Entertainer who has always been one beyond his years. When men wrote songs of hurt, he sang them as a child. When music videos came out, his were like short films. When man first walked on the moon, he moonwalked on earth. When nobody flew in concerts, he flew over his audience and went back on stage. He gave us everything we wanted to see and entertained us with all he had.
He shared with us his incredible talent and taught us the most important thing we need to know in this lifetime. To LOVE and to GIVE unconditionally. And now that he's no longer physically with us, his songs and memories are kept eternal. He lives on forever. He will always be the King of Pop, the greatest entertainer.
While watching his memorial last night, I was touched by all the beautiful words and music dedicated to him. I felt like I knew parts of him from the stories of those who were close to him -- his family and friends. But it was when his daughter, Paris, spoke that I found myself in tears. Her quivering voice said it all in "...I love him so much."
Instead of posting his famous videos and photos here, I'd like to share some of his words from a song that isn't as popular as the rest but I find most fitting at this time. A good friend of mine told me this was about God's love, of which I agree. I guess the extraordinary man who made us all speechless with his talents and compassion was also that -- a man.
And the Greatest Love there ever is made him speechless like us.
Speechless by Michael Jackson
THANK YOU, MJJ.
Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009)