Dear Greg
A poem/post to honour the life, love, and legacy of my dear fried, Greg.
In my home of Petaluma, CA, we have experienced the tragic loss of our brother, Gregory Castora. Greg and I met at the depths of my own spiritual rebirth process. He came to me on a lifeboat in a sea of great loneliness, guiding me home to a oneness and brotherhood I had trouble accessing throughout my life. What he taught me, and surely all the people in his life, about compassion, connection, and love, will never die. May this moment remind us of the eternal qualities of his life, and may we honour him by carrying forward his eternally-loving heart in our efforts to change ourselves and change the world. Greg, you are forever loved and held in the hearts and memories of the thousands of people you’ve known, and the millions of people you’ve never known. Your spirit lives on in our minds, bodies, and societies. You and I are forever; you and I are home with one another; in being and in passing.
I have composed a brief poem I’d like to share in honour of his passing, to show how the effects of his being will never pass. We love you Greg, and may this poem serve as a palm in which a fraction of the love you gave can be held and felt.
Dear Greg,
Time is a trick
Of the senses
What seems passing is forever
What seems forever is passing
You are forever,
Eternally here,
In the minds of all those you’ve touched.
There was no first time we met,
As it is repeated over and over again,
In the eternal moment
Perceived as memory,
Felt as eternity.
Descending the depths of hell
You lifted my spirits
Onto a boat
Carrying me forward to eternal bliss
A godhead in my experience of renewal,
Regeneration, rebirth
It is this that you will always embody.
A transcendent limb of the universe’s resilience
And the meaning of compassion.
Forever reaching out,
Forever there
In times of despair or loss,
It is your image that continually comes.
Reminding me the journey we’re on,
Together,
And continue to be on as one.
Even in that which can’t be seen,
You are still there.
Flashes of light,
Just as you were,
When we spent time in the mortal world.
Your legacy lives on,
A string of wonderful moments
In which you saw the love in me,
And I saw the love in you.
For it is this strand of perfection
That has woven me into eternity
Forever binded
To the oneness we share.
Dear Greg,
Your impact is eternal.
Your passing is temporal.
In the end, may we all remember,
What it was you gave
Which lives on in with all of us.
What was lost of the body can never be lost in you,
For it is in me, and all you’ve touched.
Reminding us
The perfect imperfections we all share.
This moment is a mere capstone,
Dissolving as we all will,
Into the unity you taught.
The great body of you and me lives on,
I’m there with you,
Yesterday, today, and forever.
My love is your love,
Forever,
We are one.