As Ann Curry tweeted this afternoon, “Spock made being different cool.”
There was a time in Leonard Nimoy’s life that he regretted the inseparability of himself and his most famous character. He was to make peace with it, though; so he’d understand our dual sense of loss today: We have lost Leonard Nimoy, and we have lost Spock.
And as intertwined as Nimoy/Spock may be, let us never forget what a rich and varied career this incredibly talented man had. As a director, an artist, even as a firmly ironic singer, he indelibly influenced the maturity and liveliness of the culture we enjoy today. He was Spock. And he was so much more.
I learned today, much to my tributary satisfaction, that Leonard Nimoy was also a poet. There’s no better eulogy, I think, than one that states “Poet.” So let’s end with his own words:
I Am Convinced by Leonard Nimoy
I am convinced
That if all mankind
Could only gather together
In one circle
Arms on each other’s shoulders
And dance, laugh and cry
together
Then much
of the tension and burden
of life
Would fall away
In the knowledge that
We are all children
Needing and wanting
Each other’s
Comfort and
Understanding
We are all children
Searching for love
