For Carrie

Since it's Memorial Day tomorrow, I think I'll go play and sing this song I composed on the piano for a friend of mine who took her life a couple of years ago. Her name is Carrie, and she had a smile like you wouldn't believe. She was attending Duke Medical School at the time of her passing, and most were surprised that this top student would so suddenly take her life. Even though I knew her story, and caught glimpses of the sadness and pressure behind her eyes, I was still shocked when I heard of her death. The last time I spoke with her, she had come to visit me while I played the piano at Nordstrom in Durham, North Carolina. You can't help but remember, and hopefully cherish, your last memory of somebody in this life . . .

For Carrie

Not ready for your chair to be empty
Not ready to say good bye
Your mountains were too high in the sky
Built on expectations, impossible perfection
So you chose to fly

So much beneath the bold, assertive you
We thought we knew
We never knew
How much you gave your life away
With nothing left to comfort your own misery
Locked inside without the key
You gave to others so willingly

We need your smile to lift us
From this darkness you left behind
Can we feel your strength again?
Will you grace us with your light
From the place you now call home?
We hope it's bright

May you find serenity
Release from your captivity
From trying to be a thousand things
You never really wanted to be
May you feel the peace
And know you are free

We need your smile to lift us
From this darkness you left behind
Can we feel your strength again?
Will you grace us with your light
From the place you now call home?
We hope it's bright