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Dawn V.
September 5, 2001
Dawn: night, aurora, memory: all are words used to
describe my name. My name, betrothed to me before birth. It is an
unbroken promise between best friends; a name that has lived through
death. Like the brilliant golden sun, embracing the sky with a majestic
fiery glow, colors so rich they are inescapable from your stare,
and as you focus on the massive fireball, the light grows like an
enraged forest fire.
It is a name given to me by my mother, in tribute
to her best friend. A friend so true, she sacrificed her life to
save another’s. Valor one could only dream of possessing, like a
soldier in battle. A girl like that I would have liked to have met;
so free, so innocent, and bursting with dreams, like shining stars.
Although she passed on 26 years ago at the mere age of 13, her memory
lives on, and will never be forgotten so long as I live. My name,
a promise a young girl made to her lost best friend…for saving her
life. Tragedy, like the black of night, only to be erased by the
onset of an early Dawn.
Therefore, my name is also a reminder of
injustice, as cold as ice on a window; for memory of Dawn is not
easily rested. Her murder, never solved, remains a wound never healed.
My name, an example of life’s unfairness, of our government’s imperfections,
and the long crusade for justice. A harsh reality oftentimes disregarded,
or overlooked.
To my mother, my name means hope and inspiration.
It has given her the courage to re-live her experience, like ripping
open a scab that could never quite heal. One of these days I hope
my name will mean triumph and justice. So the people hurt by this
tragic death will be able to close the window that has let the frosty
air nip at them for so many long years. And be able to gaze from
that window, engulfed by the warmth of Her presence, consummate
and reminiscent, like exploring timeless pictures within a momentous
photo album. By then, my mother’s wounds will have healed; scarred
over to remind her of the pain endured.
Composed by: D.V.
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