The Top of Her Game

I'll never truly understand God's way
     Why some must go and others get to stay
Or is it that some GET to go
     And others MUST stay?

Our daughter Diana was so keen on living
     She spent her short life always giving and giving
Her radiant smile and confident stride
     Let everyone sense the magic inside.

'Twas for the love of this planet and each fellow man
     That she focused her life
          And forged her grand plan.

From PA to MA to CA to Portland
     Ever searching for just the right place.
To settle in harmony with the arts and the land
     Inspiration for her soul, perspiration for her face.

I've never known anyone who got so much out of life,
     Making each second count.
Putting everyone around her at ease, yea excited
     To bask in her glow to which ALL were invited
          To receive her undivided and personal attention
          So that she could warmly greet you and, not to mention,
               Sincerely get to know YOU and all YOUR intentions.

Sometimes bossy, but never glossy,
     Strong willed and big hearted, she,
With arms open wide to take everyone in,
     To share in life's bounty and glee.

Yes life was about living for OUR Princess Diana
     There was to be no slowing down.
Eternally optimistic and vibrantly enthusiastic,
     A beautiful presence inside and out,
          Always smiling with never a frown.
As we celebrate her way too short twenty-nine years,
     Albeit with an endless river of tears,
Who among us can honestly say
     That we've lived our lives in such a passionate way?
CARPE SECONDA our Di's script would have cast,
     Seizing each second as if it your last.
Now God may decide our ultimate span,
     But WE can decide, right now, while we can
That life goes by quickly, too quickly to waste
     Any week, any day, any second in haste
Instead of thinking how nice it would be
     To try, in Diana's memory,
          To live and let live, with nothing to prove
          To attack life with zeal, too attack life with love.

We will love you forever, our Darling Diana
     And try to live up to the standards you've set.
          And though we're still falling without any net,
We'll make it simply by thinking of you
     And the sheer joy you brought to the clan of Kornet
Let alone the hundreds of lives you have touched
     And the hundreds more your soul will affect
          Who aren't even aware of it yet.

We all have a hole in our hearts dear, dear Di,
     A hole that will never be stitched.
But we thank you, oh thank you, for stopping by
     For our lives are forever enriched.


By your passion for living and for each living thing,
     We will think of you always when the birds and we sing.
With thoughts of the pleasures you brought us each day
     And your hand that will guide us while you're away.

May God keep you under his wing.


Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon
June 12, 2000, 7 pm.

First Parish in Cohasset, Cohasset, Massachusetts
June 19, 2000