Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Purple Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson died today. His Purple Rain album utterly defined a moment in my life, a particular year in my twenties when I was lost. I was the dove that cried, the sorrowful lover standing in the purple rain. Prince once said in an interview that for him, purple rain described the particular quality of the sky just before dawn. I can't quite take in that the haunting wail that got me through so many nights is gone, but then, I never quite took in that Prince could get older, either. It never occurred to me that he was mortal. As my friend Sharon put it when she heard, "Dying seems too pedestrian for Prince...It always seemed like he just existed, and always would." But perhaps most apt is what another friend, Cori, wrote on Twitter: "I hope he just went puff and left behind a cloud of purple sparkle dust." His going only makes sense when I imagine it like that. Sayonara, Prince. Indelibly, you were here.


7 comments:

  1. Wait- Prince has died? How did that happen?
    Like David Bowie, he seemed immortal.
    Love Prince who continued to push the boundaries. (and you never see a paparazzi photo of him, obviously keeps himself to himself...)

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  2. I am shocked and devastated. His albums have always been Most Important to me. I have needed Prince like no other. From the time I saw him in Little Red Corvette when I was about 14, he blew my mind.

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  3. Prince's death has left me feeling much like when Bowie died. These ethereal beings- they were mortal? Hard to wrap the mind around. One of those musicians who, when he burst upon the scene (and sorry, there is just no other way to put it) it was as if another realm had been tapped and he had been given the mission and honor and talent to tap it.
    I'm so sorry.

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  4. I just saw this on the news a few minutes ago. He was far too young. What a talent. And what a beautiful piece you have written here.

    On a different note, your new header is stunningly beautiful.

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  5. Another wonderfully creative soul gone...peace to him and his loved ones and all who valued him as a person and as a performer...

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  6. omg so true. He was immortal I thought, similar to how I felt about David Bowie.

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