Diana

Diana,

Princess of Wales

Somebody's "little girl"

"Mummy" to William and Harry

"The People's Princess"

None are immune. Grief comes to everyone.

A Candle in the Wind

A message from our founder on the occasion of Princess Diana's funeral...

Hello, friends,

The end of the day at the end of this bizarre week finds me weeping as I write. I've just been watching more of the TV coverage of Princess Diana and her funeral. For some reaon, shock probably, it has taken me all week to begin to cry for her. And of course, once the tears start, they flow on and on. Grief has no definable ending.

What struck me most and moved me to write you was the one word heard over and over again this week and today: people. The People's Princess. The people mourn. People, all over the world, brought together to mourn Diana's passing. Grieving people; the people grieving.

What an ironic tribute to a person who died in an effort to protect her privacy: people gathered in spirit around the globe. What a gift to leave us with: the ability to grieve openly, to mourn publicly. Diana's spirit enabled grief to come out of the c loset, enabled strangers to weep together. One man said the flowers outside Buckingham Palace were six feet deep. I saw balloons, stuffed animals, and thousands of hand-written notes.

Just as Kennedy's assassination made us aware of death, Diana's death brought us awareness of grief. For once, those of us at GriefNet are not among the few; we are just a few among the mourning people of the world.

May the love that made this miracle possible soothe you as you inevitably mourn your own loved ones along with Diana.

Cendra

Petals in the Rain

to Diana, her sons, and the world

The tears, the pain, the hollowness...
Now astounds us all.
Our hearts are torn asunder, our days are filled with grief.
How can we apologize? We really must repeat.

What are we to say? What are we to do?
Can this really be the end? Won't she see us through?
Put aside the anger, wash away the grief.
For now we must respect her. Her life was much too brief.

Our hearts are as one in the sorrowful passing,
Of this our Queen of Hearts.
The homage we now pay is but
A pitance as she departs.

Our sweet young glimmer of hope,
Has nurtured it all before.
In her romantic dream she sees...
Love as an open door.

Will the little children,
Come and wave farewell?
She really would have liked that,
Knowing her so well.

Our lady of the world was bright,
Her smile deep and pure.
Can we kiss you one more time
As we bid a fond adieu?

The boys must really know by now,
What she meant to us.
Take strength, and joy, and happiness
And march on to a lasting trust.

A trust your mother has enscribed,
Of peace and love and beauty.
We wish you all the best in life
And have our deepest pity.

Please remember that your mom,
A woman of great beauty,
Has like the flowers of the field
Bloomed in every city.

Won't you stop and smell a rose?
It's really quite divine.
But then again, my fair haired boys,
You've had one all the time.

Please be cautious of the petals
As they are so fragile.
A touch, a breath, a movement too strong
And they will all unravel.

Oh, sweet dear Diana,
A flower to us all, on life's wide open plain.
Your beauty was so frail...
Like petals in the rain.

We stand in utter silence.
Nothing can be heard
As she passes one last time...
Our eyes are left to burn.

The tears will fill the streets of London.
Dare I say the world?
Oh, Sweet Love to all of us,
Will we ever learn?

Richard E. J. Driskill, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America

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