The subject (the shape shifter) in a sense has two (or more) separate bodies that he can freely switch between...[A wiki-edited definition].
A cousin of mine who was born in Guyana, and who spent much of his life living and traveling back and forth and between three countries in three continents recently ended his journeying in Guyana where he was buried.
In his lifetime he'd had to change and adjust to the demands of his adopted homes, and even to the changed and changing conditions in the Guyana he once knew. His final return to Guyana a few days ago was the end of a journey, which not only brought him (his remains in actuality) back home physically, but also was the symbolic closing of the circle for him--a circle of love, of redemption.
We, family members and friends who'd journeyed from all parts of the world to participate in the final celebration of his life in Guyana, had all been witnesses to, causes of, affected by (in varying ways) the triumphs and disasters that had marked my cousin's shape-shifting life. And for a few days in Guyana we gathered, shed tears, and marveled at it all.
Since (as some of you have noted) I've had Guyana's politics and some politicians on my mind recently, I have to mention a particular moment in the funeral on Saturday. Among all the remarkable tributes given by family members and friends was one given by a politician--a shape-shifting character in his own right--whose ideologies and attachments have seen him journey from academia to politics, and from one political party to another. He spoke on behalf of the members of a club in which he and my cousin had shared membership, and he gave a witty definition of the ethos of the club and made it analogous to the definition of a true Guyanese.
Among other things he talked about hard work, loyal fraternity, and the right to criticize Guyana. What made the speech most memorable for me was when he said my cousin (despite his years away from Guyana) had regained or earned (not sure which) the character of a true Guyanese. Somehow I thought that particular speech would have been the one to resonate most with my cousin. I can't be certain of course. I just have this feeling that it would have.
