One Love Letter

 "All This I Did Without You"
(an excerpt of Gerard Durrell's letter to Lee McGeorge written on July 31, 1978)

All this I did without you;
This was my loss.

All this I want to do with you;
This will be my gain.

All this I would gladly have forgone;
For the sake of one minute of your company.

For your laugh,
your voice,
your eyes,
hair, lips, body,

And above all, for your sweet, ever-surprising mind
Which is an enchanting quarry;
In which it is my privilege --- to delve.

Backstory: Gerard had travelled the world and have had been in different places, seen a thousand animals and nature in amazement, but admits that all these experiences are futile because he had no one to share with his passion; through his letter, he expressed that being with Lee is far better than any of his first-hand travel escapades.

This last part of the letter spoke millions to me. I've had my own share of traveling but only one of them was I able to share it with my hubby. Just the same, that only time, although it was more of work-related, I am blessed to do it a year before his health started to decline unexpectedly. He could no longer remember the place where we went but he could remember what he felt at that time while traveling with me. That alone, is enough. But now, that he has transitioned to afterlife, I will have to do things on my own again without his physical presence by my side.

To hear the whole letter read later by Tom Hiddleston in 2015, check out the segment in Letter Live at this Youtube link.

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