.Maritri. 

I’m starting this off in a way I think she would’ve liked, by posing a (paraphrased) musical question inspired by that famed song from The Sound of Music - “how to explain the light that was Maritri?”

How, indeed.

 

It still doesn’t seem real that my good friend has passed away. Not gonna lie, it seems slightly unfair. As so, so many have written and expressed in the last couple of days after her passing, Maritri Garrett brought love and light everywhere she went. It was always a joy to hear her perform, no matter if it was solo or with other groups, especially The Soulfolk Experience. You could actually HEAR the comfort of light in her voice. It was tangible as it was transcendent.  And it healed. I’m a witness, and I'm glad I got to witness it from Maritri in her music and in conversation with her.

 

Admittedly, I'm not all the way okay writing this. It's hard to grasp that someone like Maritri who embodied living life so much, could be gone just like that. I was already dealing with the sudden loss of an uncle, and having another relative in the hospital. I had looked forward to settling in last Wednesday to catch up with her and say hello to other folks on her "Reunion of Souls" show that she would have via Facebook.

 

I tried to make every “Reunion of Souls” show that I could, even if it was for the last half hour or so because her music and her spirit was that full of light. Think about how amazing of a person you have to be to help people afraid and uncertain in a pandemic to just go, “well I’m going to get folks together online, I’ll sing and we can get through this” and it becomes a community years later? But that was Maritri. She was someone who was going to give, with no regrets. It's that song, particularly her performance of it from a show where she opened for the renowned rocker Martha Redbone two years ago in her native California, that I've been listening to repeatedly. Maritri believed in living life to the fullest, with all the light and love you have in you, so that when its your time, you don't have anything to lament. You gave it your all. 

 

I know how much that meant to her. I met Maritri waaaaaaaaaaay back when I was a budding poet exploring that cultural scene that was Brooklyn in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Over that time, I'd see her do shows and whenever we'd part, she'd make sure to say we need to get together. I'm here reminiscing about the phone calls, the conversations via Facebook. The jokes. The laughter. 

 

 Maritri was one of the first people to reach out to me hours after Mom passed. She was familiar with loss, and she spoke about all aspects of it whether it was through the loss of her parents or her brother Marend. Even with breakups - one of her songs I knew best was "Merman." She channeled all of that into her music,  her art. And in turn, it made her one of the best people I have come to know.

 

Maritri, to me, was someone who truly showed you how you're supposed to live. I marveled at how she was off doing shows all over, from Germany to South Africa, from bedside in hospital wards to church services and at yoga classes. Much like sunlight, she and her music were a constant in her giving back. I distinctly remember as the world was settling into the sobering reality that was the COVID-19 pandemic, and her detailing how she had to rush back to California to be with her nieces, who she took in as her own - "I've got kids I have to get back to."That was her spirit.

 

I have to add that in those rare moments I did hear her cuss, even THAT sounded melodic. I'm remembering all those RoS shows, the TV theme nights. And how she always made sure to sing "Happy Birthday" to whoever was celebrating. She would make sure to get at me - "give me a list of songs, we're celebrating!" That RoS community I got to know through those shows, are full of fine people who I'm sure are remembering her fondly today as I write these words. 

 

I’m going to miss Maritri Garrett dearly, but I won’t do so with too much sadness. Because she showed us just how powerful light and love could be, especially when we reflect it in each other.  And when we bestow it upon ourselves. I'm going to close this out with a key line from "Lean Into Love", the last line: "Arm yourselves for the fight of your life..." 

 

Rest well, Maritri. I'm so honored to have known you.