My Last Love Letter to the King of Pop..

Dearest Michael J. Jackson,

I have to admit, it is reaching three weeks since your death, and I never got around to doing this earlier. Deliberate procrastination, you can call it. Writing this tribute, this letter to you would signify the realness of your demise…something I would have trouble accepting for a long time to come. I am at a loss for words currently; your death was too sudden for me. In my silly little head, Michael Joseph Jackson was immortal, a demigod. News of your death only reminded me how humbly human you are, even more delicate than some of us.

My mother told me some time ago that my first movie in the cinema was Moonwalker, as a 2-year-old. Apparently I never sat still in the cinema - I danced on my seat throughout the whole movie. You have no idea how proud that makes me feel, Michael. A 2-year-old with an ear for good music even at that age. Speed Demon was my favourite track for a long time, it seems. Lucky for me, my parents were big fans of your music too. Every Michael Jackson song that was released was sung along to. My childhood was filled with sounds of your music, and your intricate dance moves.

As I grew older, your serious songs with deeper themes started becoming my anthems. Heal The World, Earth Song, They Don’t Care About Us, Man in the Mirror…the list could go on. I consider myself a budding environmentalist today, and I have you to thank for that. Your songs influenced me the way a million news reports and television shows could not: they made me think. Your videos were way beyond their time, and I remember crying when I first saw the video for Earth Song. And today, what do they sing about? Sex, violence, love, break-ups, sex and more sex. Bah.

Listening to songs like Stranger In Moscow, I could sense that you were a lonely man, even though u had people surrounding you at all times. All those allegations, all the accusations - I never believed them. Until today, even after your passing, people still talk about those things and with you not being able to defend yourself, it irks me even more. It is even sadder that when you were alive, no one really cared about what happened to you, but after your death everyone claims to be a fan of yours. I read about you not having a childhood and missing it so much, and telling Oprah that you missed “slumber parties” the most about your childhood, and these frank words told me that you are just a harmless child-man with your emotional connection yearning for a second chance at childhood…and it is heartbreaking that this became your downfall from grace.

June 25, 2009. A date I will never forget. I swear I dreamt you died, Michael, just the night before the news of your death reached me. Whether it was an out-of-body experience, some telepathy, or just gut feeling - no one would ever know. The whole day was one of shock and daze for me. It never really sank in until the Saturday after your death, where I broke down and cried right up until Sunday, just by listening to your songs and looking at pictures of you during your peak, when you seemed happy and almost angel-like. My entire family was in mourning, like we had lost a close family friend. You felt like a friend. Always did.

I am sure whole world knows that there would never be one like Michael Joseph Jackson anymore. Erratic behaviour aside, no one can emulate what you did for the music world, and the messages you sent out through your songs for us to learn. I have no words to say how much I look up to you and your songs and your moves and your stage presence and your personality; my collection of your songs, from I Want You Back with the Jackson 5 right up to Akon’s version of Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, is proof enough that I love you beyond words. You never had a childhood, but you certainly made mine a memorable one. The moonwalking moon child has danced his way to heaven. R.I.P. Michael Jackson, always missed, always loved.

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change.”
- Michael J. Jackson, Man in the Mirror

** For more on Michael Jackson, read up on the MJ Tribute under Happenings**