Courtney Love honored her late husband Kurt Cobain on the 29th anniversary of his death on Thursday, April 6. The Hole singer, 58, shared a photo of his hands taken by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe on her Instagram and penned an emotional caption about how much she missed the iconic singer who died by suicide at 27 in 1994. She spoke at length about Kurt’s hands, and how they were a big part of how she remembers him.
Courtney praised Michael for his many excellent photos over the years, but said that he saw something special in Kurt’s hands, as had she. “I love beautiful hands, it’s the first thing I look at in another,” she wrote, mentioning that the shot of the Nirvana singer’s hands was the one photo Michael took of him. “But Micheal saw these hands. These left handed beautiful hands like a votive/ a mudra, a shot this singular, powerful photograph of my twin flame.”
The singer continued and spoke about her Buddhist beliefs and said that seeing Kurt’s hands was one of the things that made her miss him the most nearly three decades after his passing. “It is one of the only images (or sounds/ tastes etc) that makes me miss him deeply. But he chanted with me & often, & truly was moved by our Buddhist practice. Thus, I know he’s in an enlightened place, more so, than we here in Mappo are,” she wrote. “I & we love & miss you.”
Many fans commented on the photo to share their own remembrances of Kurt and tributes to him. Michael also shared the photo and Courtney’s post on his story and simply wrote, “Love love love”
Kurt was the singer and guitarist for Nirvana, who are widely credited for popularizing grunge music with their breakout album Nevermind in 1991. Kurt’s fellow Nirvana members included bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl, who went on to form the Foo Fighters. Kurt and Courtney were married from 1992 until his death in 1994. They also have a daughter Frances Bean Cobain, 30.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.