A Few Thoughts on the Tragic Loss of Our Fallen Friend Dirk Smiler
If you haven't heard (& I don't know how that would be possible), the scene has recently lost a very dear friend to horribly tragic circumstance...
I've known Dirk casually for a number of years through the scene. But in early 2008 I finally got to know him on a much deeper level. I had broken up with my girlfriend of the time & found myself at a point where I was needing to rebuild some social circles in the area (an aspect in life I had been neglecting for quite a while). At a point when I really needed some new connections, Dirk warmly welcomed me into his circle. Through late night parties & a magnetic personality he introduced me to a whole new group of people, many of whom I'd seen but didn't really know, & many of whom have since become good friends in the scene. It was a time when someone of his charisma & thirst for life was needed & I've felt he was a good friend ever since.
Dirk was an avid fan of Shakespeare. Indeed, he was a very complicated person with a strong degree of depth. Known more for his thirst of life, endless parties, & rare ability to recite poetry from memory, I found him to be quite complex & perhaps even a slightly tortured soul. But his love for the people around him seemed to overshadow it all - both his faults & his lifestyle as a parade of endless parties.
The more I thought about it, I found myself left in awe by how abruptly such a life was swept away. And yet, something tells me he'll shake things up wherever he may be; that in time we'll all come to pass & gather around the sacred fire to join in friendship & good conversation as the sound of subtle drums beat a soothing rhythm in the distance.
But while I sat & thought, the whole sense of such a meaningless tragedy seemed to bring me back to his love for Shakespeare. I must admit, he had much better friends than myself, but I would like to offer this...
"He was a living icon & a force within the scene - killed in a crime of passion just past Valentine's & a few days short of his birthday. Many mourn his loss, & now his birthday will be celebrated as a wake. Indeed, it is a tragedy that Shakespeare himself could not have written."
Without question, our time as friends was far too short.
For more information on the circumstances surrounding his death, please refer to the City Paper: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2010/02/16/dirk-smiler-prominent-washington-goth-is-dead/
There is also a memorial website established in his name: http://www.ripdirk.com/index.html
