Crystal Tears

Many friends know the story of my sister-in-law's struggle with cancer. Marti passed away on August 14 at her home in Marble, Colorado. After her funeral, I spent several days with my brother and four of their children still at home. This poem has been winding its way through my heart since then.

Crystal River at Redstone, CO, a few miles from my brother's home in Marble.

CRYSTAL TEARS

Crystal River catch my salty tears,

Meld them with the melted snows

That pass o’er marbled terrains

Flowing along reddish rocks,

Keepers of tales of love and woe.

Splash these heart-bled gems into a Roar until

They travel far beyond my

House of Joys and Sorrows

And dissipate into the

Crystal Sea where tears

Blossom into fruited trees

Along shining, life-laiden banks.

There sits the 

Golden-haired Beloved,

Celestial harp in hand,

Singing songs of Wonder,

In crystal-glazed notes

Winding higher and higher

Past the earthbound C*;

While I, with mountain-east eyes

Catch their echo

‘Neath the silvery moon. 

My brother Jerry, August 21, 2015

Night photos taken by Jerry from their home

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*The last note Marti Begly sang during recording sessions on earth was a high C. This was just two weeks before her passing on to glory. The song was “How Great Thou Art,” and is available soon from Studio B Recordings. 

Notes regarding metaphors in this poem:  

EARTHLY:   The Crystal River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, in the heart of the Rockies in western Colorado. It rises in northern Gunnison County in the Elk Mountains on the north side of Schofield Pass, passing through the ghost town of Crystal City. It then flows north past the town of Marble, then into Pitkin County past Redstone. It joins the Roaring Fork below Carbondale. The beautiful drive along State Highway 133 follows the river along much of its route north of Marble toward Carbondale. 

HEAVENLY:  The dwelling of God is described near the end of the Bible in Revelation 22.: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” The river mentioned there is also referred to as the crystal river, crystal sea, or sea of glass (also see Revelation 4:6, 15:2). The American hymn “Shall We Gather at the River?” paints a picture of the scene along this heavenly body of water, asking if we will be there too. 

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MUSIC LINKS

At the River - Sung by the Sanctuary Choir at Resurrection Lutheran Church, Cary NC

May the Lord - A blessing sung by Marti Begly in a 2014 recording. It was played at her funeral in August 2015 as her casket was wheeled from the sanctuary. What a beautiful gift she left to bless and comfort; what a tear-stained moment in worship!

Crystal River at Redstone, CO on August 22, 2015