The initials “E.M. K.” coincidentally stand for both brother and sister Edward Moore Kennedy and Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver. In this Associated Press photo, they playfully run the first steps of a race in support of the Special Olympics in 1975. She leads, he follows; both are smiling, perhaps laughing, and enjoying the effort, enjoying the race, happy warriors, both.
The race is over. Another golden sunset has fallen upon Cape Cod. Requiescat in Pace.
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
From “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Amen to that--the poem you quote from used to be a favorite of mine many years ago!
ReplyDeleteHi,John. I like the poem, too. Strong, meaty, something you can shout if you want to.
ReplyDeleteEmotions are running high here in Mass. just now. I was moved by one very simple moment of the many memorial observances scheduled to occur this weekend, the impromptu crowd that gathered at the Sagamore Bridge (companion to the Bourne Bridge farther down the Cape Cod Canal that your father knew), to watch the funeral motorcade pass on its way to Boston, so they could be there to say goodbye when Teddy left the Cape forever. Sometimes the simplest tributes are the most touching.