The dress in the portrait

An Original Portrait by Violet Parkhurst entitled "Memories"

This painting was commissioned by me in May of 1995. This painting is based on the poem "Bright Mariner" by Katherine Garrison Chapin. Violet Parkhurst is the California artist who painted it for me. She incorporated me into the picture wearing the dress from the picture that Mike said was his favorite picture of me. This poem was read at Mike's funeral on January 2, 1995. The poem is as follows:

Had I known that you were going
I could have given you
At least, good speed.
But you slipped away so suddenly
Thant I was left standing on the shore
Watching into space.
Not knowing that you would never come back,
Till I felt the waters of the incoming tide
Cold about my heart.
I do not ask for you again,
I know the sea you sail
Does not touch these shores,
I only look for a distant "All hail"
Like the white crest of a wave against the horizon
Or a signal light flashing once,
Far against the Sky.
Sail on, my bright sturdy mariner!
Let out a full sheet to your new winds,
Taste the clear spray of your new waters.
You were made for flight and swiftness,
And eternal freedom.
Nothing shall weigh you down
Or call you back to the warm earth,
Or the shape we knew,
Or the place that held you so very dear.
I have cut the anchor chain that bound you to me,
and the great strength of my love,
And the heavy ache of my loneliness,
Which might bear upon you and hold you back,
I have fashioned into a shining, silken fabric
To the highest, and strongest of your new sails.
Katherine Garrison Chapin

Mickey and Mike Summer of 1994

  

Ode to a Lost Love

Michael Edward Sanborn - You will forever be in my heart. After 12 years, your memory spans the years to wrap me in a fond embrace. The other day, I was feeling rather sad and one of those England Dan and John Ford Coley songs came on and it was as if you were there all of a sudden hugging me! A loving smile crossed my face... it was a sweet moment!
Today I was at mom's. I was going through my old nightstand where I found a picture of you with Arianna when she came to visit you in the summer of '94. To see your face brought back your essence that warms my very soul. I remember how much you really loved me and how in only six months - I could feel so valued and cared for. I carry that gift with me still. I had given up on love until you came into my life. On the way home I was reminiscing in my mind about the time you first called me. Mom told me it was the "sea captain!" I wondered how you got my number when I never gave it to you. No guy had ever taken it upon himself to start calling numbers in the phonebook. I remember being reluctant to go to your apartment as you pleaded with me to come over and that you would fix me dinner. Little did I know that by accepting the invitation, my life was destined to change forever.