Emily (Cronin) Barajas, to me, you always had “eyes full of stars.” Rest in Peace, My Dear Emily. — Tad (JTK.CA) @NudistPoet a.k.a. Jonathan Tad Ketchen

linkedin.com/in/emily-barajas-60b6a284

colonialfuneral.com/obituaries/Emily-L-Barajas?obId=19411674

Emily (Cronin) Barajas
February 24, 1977 — December 24, 2020

“THESE FEELINGS” (a poem I wrote to Emily in the mid-1990s)
TAD is JTK.CA NudistPoet
Copyright © Jonathan Tad Ketchen

These feelings . . .
Let no one know them.
Open up a graveyard
For all the masks
That are worn
And thrown away.

Tomorrow is the anthem of
A soon forgotten yesterday.
Today is lost in silence.
What does it mean?
And where do we go from here?
Where is here?
Are we even
Anywhere at all?

You speak to me
With eyes full of stars,
And I find a universe
Eluding me.

JTK.CA

I wrote that poem for one of my best friends Emily (Cronin) Barajas while we studied together at Valparaiso University (VU) in the mid-1990s. She loved the poem. And I loved her and her identical twin sister Beverly Cronin. Sadly, I was just informed by Emily’s husband Paul Barajas (also my friend at VU) that Emily passed away on Christmas Eve 2020.

Emily was a rocket scientist with Boeing and with Lockheed Martin. She truly had “eyes full of stars.” I will always cherish her memory, as I cherished having her as a friend.

Years ago, I created this EMILY name artwork inspired by my love for Emily (Cronin) Barajas.

My last interaction with Emily on my linkedin profile.