There is a “Life Force” in our bedroom. It’s a statue of two lovers melding, melting, becoming one, and it lives on the dressing table beside our bed. The statue was a present to Chris and me from its creator, Am Afifi, a man of great intelligence, with many talents and qualities but above all he was a dear friend. Am gave us the statue well before he died of the cancer that wracked him for several years so I don’t associate it with his death; rather, I recognise in the piece the life force that was our friend. On the plinth is the inscription, “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun”. We had been meaning to look it up on Google for a long, long time.

“You know the inscription on Am’s statue?” Chris asked at the breakfast table this morning.

“Yes?” I was intrigued.

“Well it comes from a lesser known Shakespeare play called ‘Cymbeline’. Shall I read you the poem?” Chris asked.

And Chris read out the poem below:

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun;
Nor the furious winter’s rages,
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.

Fear no more the frown of the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

So it was about acceptance of the inevitable – leaving this earthly world – and being remembered, which is still a kind of existence for as long as one is remembered. Even the statue will “come to dust” one day.

A trip to YouTube led me to various renditions of the song “Fear no More the Heat of the Sun” – Shakespeare’s poem put to music by the composer Roger Quilter – and I was enthralled by a young Canadian bass baritone. Click on the link below to discover the wonderful voice of Phillipe Sly: