No Requiem for a Lover
When love exists outside space and time
Love is Eternal
On November 14, 2016, my husband, Joe Gemignani, sent me an email. The subject line was “I love you” and the above image was attached. Joe had an endearing way of expressing his love. He often picked up stones or fallen leaves that resembled hearts and gave them to me. Or sent images he came across online.
On November 12, 2020, (only two days short of four years after he sent that email), Joe took his last breath with me at his side, holding his hand. I felt his spirit leave his body and enter that place where there is no space or time.
What I’ve discovered in the five years since his transition is that “that place where there’s no space or time” can be accessed from either side of the veil.
And that is why there is no requiem for a lover. And no need for finality.
“Don’t grieve,” said Rumi. “Everything you lose comes round in another form.”
Well, I do grieve. I miss the human form of Joe daily.
But I also celebrate and appreciate our connection in that place where there is no space or time.
The email referenced above was down deep in my email inbox… in 2016. Yet about two years ago, it showed up on my phone email as if I had scrolled down the archives.
Imagine waking up and finding an email from your departed loved one on your phone. It was startling, but not terribly out of the ordinary for me. He’s been reaching out, sending messages through old emails since he transitioned. Still, every instance touches me in a way that leaves no doubt that it’s a transmission from him.
I had forgotten the original email, but after that experience, the image and words stayed with me.
A few days before the anniversary of his death this year, I was flipping through Facebook reels and suddenly Leon himself pops up singing those exact lines. Just those lines.
I love you in a place where there’s no space or time Love you for my life, you are a friend of mine And when my life is over Remember when we were together, We were alone And I was singing this song for you.
I can’t describe the energy that shot through my heart in those seconds with words. It can only be felt.
And even now, typing the lyrics brings a remnant of that electrifying shock to my heart. It wasn’t Leon singing. It was Joe. He often sang love songs to me, so the only surprise was it coming so unexpectedly, but with the overwhelming sense of confirmation that this place exists outside space and time.
Even as fervently as I believe, as I know, our connection to the Other Side is real, these unexpected transmissions strike me to my core.
And so, Love is never over. It’s never done. Everything you lose comes back in another form. And Rumi also noted that,
“Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.”
Love and Lovers exist in that place where there is no space and time. It’s called forever.
One more sign before I go…
As I scheduled this message for delivery on Friday, its usual publication date, I realized you will receive this on Friday, November 14, 2025… nine years from the original email that sparked this message today. I don’t make this stuff up. That level of creativity comes from a much Higher Source.
Thank you, dear reader, for sharing the journey with me.
Until next time…
My best, Shelley
That is such a sweet story. I didn’t think I knew that song, but I do. Leon Russell’s version (my favorite one is where he is sitting at the piano with that long white hair and beard. The sax solo is phenomenal! I do love YouTube!) He is raw and gritty and amazing. The version I was familiar with was The Carpenters and I love their music. Her voice is smooth and cool and polished. I think I like his better. It works for this song. And you know I am crying right now.
Then Rumi. “Don’t grieve,” said Rumi. “Everything you lose comes round in another form.” I’m not there yet.
Also “Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” I knew Bruce from his picture posted on a wall. I turned and ran the other way. I wasn’t ready. It took me a year to acknowledge it. In that year, we became friends. Bruce thought we were twin flames, two parts of a whole. He’s been gone now almost 21 years. (How can it be that long when it feels like yesterday?) I feel blessed to have known such a great love, even if it was far too short.
What a special connection you have with Joe. Sending you love. I have heard that grief is the price of love. I feel that in my bones.
Much love,
Pam
Just reading this now. I am currently reading "Signs" written by a psyhic medium, Laura Lynn Jackson. I am fascinated. Of course (!!--if you know me) I believe in many things we can't prove or see. I am finding her stories of signs from Loved Ones who passed very comforting. Although there are unexplained happenings in my life, I often question myself. I will not do so any longer...Your story is one I will remember. (I want to write about these episodes before Christmas in my own article series.)