Poetry for Pete Duel

Poetry & Prayers

Remembering Pete Duel

Your poetry is also welcome.
Please send to The Pete Duel Memorial Site.

“Peter's Prayer and Poem” — by Cindy

he looked above him into the light
and saw his lord standing bright
hear me dear lord, i am ready to go
will you welcome me or will you say no?
i hear you my son. your cry is plain
come home to me and ease your pain
with this the young man followed the light
going home on a winter's night.

(written by a fan who loves you so much, pete)

“I'm Sorry You Were So Sad” — by Cherie

Your beautiful smile and lustrous brown eyes,
So filled with warmth and
enticement and smoldering pain
Drew me in as a girl of thirteen
And now, as a woman of many years,
I find my own eyes filled with a new wealth of tears.
I have rediscovered your beauty
And I am mourning for the empty decades
Without the exquisiteness of your heart
and talent to share with the world,
And to share with this young girl
Who felt an awakening because of you
And a shattering because of you, too.

It is effortless and arduous both,
To find words expressive enough
To even understand for myself
How your soul touched mine
Before I even knew what it was I was feeling
And how it touches me still to remember you,
Forever in time still young and handsome,
Full of life and offering yourself to the world.

I am sorry you were so sad.
I am sorry the hearts you touched
And stirred to devotion
Weren't felt by you;
Weren't enough to embrace you
And shield you from your horrible impulse.

How cruelly you left me;
How desolately you abandoned yourself.
You shattered me; you broke my immature heart.
And my weathered heart still breaks for you now.
When I was thirteen,
My heart broke for MY loss of you.
Now it only mourns for your loss of you.
Peace. Rest well.

* * *

“A Visit to Penfield” — by Anita

You should have been there yesterday,
with your grandchildren in tow.
You could have shown us, smiling,
all the spots you used to go.
We’d love to know just where you used to
swim, and fish, and play.
You should have been there with us
— oh, we missed you yesterday.

You should have been there yesterday,
your homecoming a joy.
You could have brought your son with you,
or your daughter and her boy;
You could have led him, hand-in-hand,
down paths you used to run,
And smiled and watched as he raced off,
like you, to chase the sun.

You could have stood there with us
and watched the sun go down,
And told us what things used to be like,
here in your home town.
You could, once more, have looked
out on these hills you've often seen,
And watched the shadows lengthen
on the fields of summer green.

I’d love to see your face light up,
remembering stream and tree;
If we could only change the past
to what it ought to be.
We don't know why you chose to leave,
you've been so long away.
You should have been there with us,
Pete, we missed you yesterday.

* * *

“Why?” — by Jessie

I wrote this for Pete on what would
have been his 32nd birthday, February 24, 1972.

Today was his birthday — thirty two years
he would have seen. But instead of life he
had chosen death, and everyone who loved
him are asking themselves — Why?

On the surface all seemed well, but deep
within his soul was crying. The smile on
his face he carried to the end, but in his
eyes was the sadness, and never once did
anyone ask him — Why?

In his heart was love for all who needed
him — his family, friends and fans. But
on the day when he chose to die, he needed
them and failed to ask them — Why?

* * *

“How Can You” — by Gretchen

How can you be so sad, yet no one sees;
hidden behind a face that no one can read,
wanting someone desperately to take away the unhappiness
and bring joy into a world where it has long been forgotten.

How can you cry so loud, yet no one hears;
tears flow in the dark when no one is around,
searching for the reason so this punishment seems just
hoping for the day when forgiveness is found.

How can you be so lonely, yet surrounded by many;
everyone thinking you have everything you want,
when in fact you have nothing that matters at all
and no way of knowing how to get what you need.

How can the world be so bright, yet you live in darkness;
afraid of the fears that come with the night, afraid of the
hopelessness that comes with the dawn, yet each day begins
and ends the same, with no salvation in sight.

How can you stop the agony that each day brings;
the never ending pain and disappointment that has
become the norm, and yet, without those emotions
how else would I know I exist.

* * *

“You Are” — by Lori

You are my joy, my sadness,
My light, my deepest darkness.
The mystery that is you fills my thoughts.

You are eternally young; you'll never age,
Your voice rings strong in my dreams.
The beauty that is you lifts my soul.

You were gone too soon, torn away.
We never really knew you, did you know yourself?
The sorrow that is you breaks my heart.

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