This past week marked the ninth anniversary of the tragic passing of Princess Diana. Like 9/11 and the death of JFK, her death marks one of those times when you will always remember exactly what you were doing when you heard the news.

At that time, I was still on AOL, and I had just logged in to see the headline on the main news window. Though I'm not much for IMs, my friend Pammy and I spent the next couple of hours exchanging IMs as we both looked for further updates online and on TV. I will never forget that night or scenes from her funeral ~ particularly her sons walking behind her casket and Elton John's voice breaking as he sang his amended *Candle in the Wind* for her.

Now there are more updates on her: because of the inquest into her death and because of the new book written by her former butler, Pat Burrell ~ a book where he asserts that the mysterious diamond ring on her finger when she died was NOT an engagement ring.

*Be Mine* webmistress Emmie Jean Henderson has a beautiful tribute to Princess Diana at the *Be Mine* site: http://bemine.com/tributes/princess.htm. She was kind enough to include the poem I wrote at the time, and I share it with you now:

In Memory of Princess Diana

Sleep now, our gentle warrior,
You have earned eternal rest.
Though your light shined much too briefly,
By your love we all were blest.

You brightened the lives of many
With your gentle, caring way ~
You touched the hearts of all the world,
And we mourn your loss today.

Our world will now be darker,
And our hearts are filled with pain,
But there's one more star in Heaven
To illumine God's domain.

So sleep, our gentle warrior,
Soothed by angel lullabies.
Your love will beat forever
Although death has closed your eyes.

(c1997, 2006 by Vikki L. Jeanne Cleveland)