[Sad news reached me from Korea. My dear friend, Dr. Sang-Whan Suh, a gifted painter whom I deeply respected and admired, passed away a few days ago. In gratitude for his friendship and the beauty he brought into this world, I offer this poem, “Let It Be,” as my tribute to his passing.]

Only last summer I sat with him in his room, while time, unnoticed, waited at the door.

This fall his daughter sent word that he had crossed the gracious ocean.

Not hurried. Not taken.

He simply entered another work of art and became part of the picture.

Behind thick glasses, beneath those familiar eyebrows, his eyes had always searched for the Master’s hidden intention.

And his weathered hands, touching wood, earth, and paint, seemed to know that nothing is truly unfinished in the Creator’s world.

So come now, my friend. Cross the Pacific without passport or ticket. Come into this room where my heart sometimes loses its way.

Bring your brushes. Paint our songs again upon the waiting canvas of Spring.

And when I travel to Korea, thinking I have left something behind, let me discover that you have gone before me.

Perhaps there is no leaving. Only another road, another color, another canvas.

And you, walking quietly beside me.

Let it be.