Piece I created and read on June 14th at the Albany Palace Theatre, celebrating the Life of Esther.

I'm Altranise Harris.

Among many things, I am a licensed massage therapist, a doula, a mother, a lover, a friend…

Not sure if I'd call this a poem, but it is certainly a story of love.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment I met Esther, it was probably in 2018.

Perhaps there's no firm beginning because she felt like home.

The beauty of not having a beginning is then there really is no end.

Esther’s Love

Esher love is so big, dynamic and endless that it’s nearly impossible to hold it in language, but I did my best to share her love for the sake of community, for the sake of grief, for the sake of love…

Here are five of the many ways to describe Esther’s love:

ONE: ‘Baby, it’s going to be alright’ motherly love

It’s 2019 and I was in an Albany parking lot prior to a training and I was running behind, anxious, discombobulated, not feeling up to being within a large group, and I remember seeing Esther standing near a parking meter and I immediately calmed down when her soothing eyes spoke even before she said a word,

'Baby, it’s going to be alright.'

TWO: ‘I want to pour into you because you love so well’ sort of love

I was doing chair massage at a Children’s Cafe event and she asked me to rub her sore legs. I had her get comfortable in a chair and she closed her eyes, maybe even dozed as I worked her legs and I could feel within her all she gives to others. It was so nurturing to nurture the nurturer.

Giving and receiving became one in the same.

THREE: That ‘Bestie, let’s laugh for hours’ sort of love

Esther’s laugh is contagious!

Even when you don’t know what she's laughing about. Oh, but the time she complimented me on how my hair scarf matches my outfit and I turned to her with my best John Witherspoon, Boomerang impersonation and said,

'You got to coooordinate!'

and she leaned into me and we laughed so hard.

Or when she laughed as she told me about the early morning news interview where they unexpectedly told her they were about to go live and she was like,

'Wait, what!!!!'

Though I know she did fine and I know it was one of the many ways in which she helped save Burdett Birth Center.

Four: ‘Let me hit you with a truth’ Grandmama love

Esther was that ancient soul that hit you with some loving truths.

I was venting to her about my daughter wanting to wear a PJ mask costume every day
and Esther looked at me with those beautiful, knowing eyes and said, 'Altranise, you let Imani be who she is. Just let her be.'

And as simple as those words may sound, we know how challenging and complicated mothering can be, and she shared a story of how she navigated an obsession her once young daughter had with a pair of shiny shoes.

Just let her be.

And I’ve held onto those words, not only as a mother to my children but as a mother to myself as I learn to love all my clunky, intense, awkward, eccentric parts.

You see, Esther’s love is self love.

Through the years, I attempted to tell Esther how profound her words were, how she planted seeds of wisdom during the right season, and, after I learned of her passing, I was really touched when I saw a photo Birthnet posted of us hugging at a moment when I had once again shared my gratitude.

Our last deep hug was captured.

(Thank you, Jayana)

AND last but not least Five: A ‘we are one, universal love’

Esther’s love was community love
coming together love
lean on each other love.

It’s like she’s Quincy Jones and we are the musicians creating We Are the World.

She’s a love conductor
reminding each and everyone of us of our gifts
the importance of
interweaving
the importance of harmonizing
to create change
TOGETHER
because we are that much more powerful
when we stand in oneness.

Let's remember this as we remember Esther’s love.

Esther is very much here with us
in the fabric of our community
of many communities
and she will always be a part of the collective heart.

We love you Esther.

Thank you for your indescribable, motherly, reciprocal, fun, wise, powerful love."

Esther Marie Patterson-King

January 26, 1960 - May 29, 2024

First Quarter Moon (there are no ends)