About a year ago I lost someone who was near and dear to my heart, a best friend. Now he didn't move to a new town or go to a new school like some of my friends, he passed away. I didn't know what to do, what to say, or even what to think, because nothing was there. I still remember walking up along side of him as he lied there. Everything inside me just stopped. All I could do was cry. I tried to think, but nothing came. I tried to hope... but again nothing. To this day I still have problems coping with his death, but once I really began to hope, and to start to express my hidden feelings things began to get better. It was like I had an angel on my shoulder telling me that everything was going to be all right and that he was in a better place. Now whenever I hope, I hope that he's looking down at me and that he knows that I think about him every day. I also hope that when that day comes for me, I will see him again, and I'll sit next to him, up there, on a cloud.

On A Cloud
Music by William Ogmundson with Lyrics by Kathleen Skinner, Trish Lindberg and Mrs. Cole's HS Creatinve Writing Class, Bow, NH.

On a cloud
Floating high and free
I am safe
Where I'm meant to be
No sorrow
No sadness here
No darkness
The sky calm and clear
No Pain
Only Happiness
Falling down like rain
 
Death has no place here, only life
Hatred has to grasp here, only love
Say what I want to say
Need not ever be afraid
A castle of rainbows where children play
Hopeful faces stare up at me
My magic kingdom safe and carefree
I am with you and you with me.
 
On a cloud
Floating high and free
I am safe
Where I'm meant to be
No sorrow
No sadness here
No darkness
The sky calm and clear
No Pain
Only Happiness
Falling down like rain
 
And you'll be there
Everywhere
Floating by without a care
On a cloud.

A Poem by Jesse's Teacher, Mrs. Sargent
  
Jesse....
  
A shining star for all to see
A true friend you will always be.
Always there with a ready smile
Willing to try and go the extra mile.
 
We learned so much from you
About the things we should and shouldn't do.
Live, Laugh and give love,
You truly were a gift from above.
 
Seldom did I see you sad,
And even less did I see you mad.
A little ray of sunshine in my day,
Even now that you've been called away.
 
Often I think of the shine of your eyes,
And the courage in your soul.
To be a little more like you
Would be my number one goal.
 
To this day I remember the joy on your sweet little face
When we finally knew The SOX had won their race!
  
All these things and so much more I will recall,
About the sweet boy who in my eyes stood ten feet tall.
  
Thank you, Jesse for sharing a small peice of your life with me
You made life richer and others agree.
You will always be a shining star for the world to see.
  
Love,
Mrs. Sargent - KRMS
(Kearsarge Regional Middle School)

Jesse's Creative Writing Project (06/08/2006)

*** This was written by Jesse the day before he died *** 

Jesse Isabelle - Creative Writing - Thursday, June 8, 2006

What I want to do on my summer
vacation is watch baseball games. I
would play baseball with my step dad
too. I will sleep over my sister's house
we will play games and watch t.v. I
will go swimming in the lake this
summer. I can't wait for the summer.

Daniel, Jesse's best friend (10/2006)

"The length of time Jesse spent here has little to do with the impact he made on our lives. Jesse will be missed by all !"
 
Written by Daniel Jesse's best friend from the Perkins School 10/06

Compassionate Friends Newsletter (09/2006)

Strangers Become Friends

A group of strangers, not one familiar face
How could any comfort, be found in this place?
Searching for answers, looking to find
Some hope, some understanding, or just pease of mind.
Someone to tells us we are not going insane
These emotions we're feeling, a way of dealing with pain.
The sorrow in our hearts, the future we fear
Will any of this sadness ever really disappear?
We laugh, we cry, as a way to get by,
We share, we care, to lessen our despair.
We listen, we hear, to understand our fear,
We joke, we cope, in search of some hope,
What brought us together, that allowed our paths to cross
Was the shared experience and the pain of a loss.
The loss of a child or a sibling, so precious, so dear,
Is what binds us together and brought us all here.
We've gained strength with each passing day
And with the help of those around us, we are finding our way.
For we can now justify, what it is we feel
And with this added strength we will continue to heal.
What strongly bonds us, not everyone comprehends
How a group of total strangers, has now become friends.

Helen Keller

"What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose,
for all that we love deeply, becomes a part of us"

C. S. Lewis

"Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: 'What! You, too? I thought I was the only one.' "

 Roy F. P. -- In remembering our children...
 
"In remembering our children,
In sharing with each other,
In supporting each other,
We ease our pain,
We share each step,
We help smooth the road,
And we serve as witnesses to
The fact that we can make it
Beyond grief."