A good friend has just been diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, putting me in mind of a poem by Lucille Clifton when she learned of her husband’s lung cancer diagnosis.
Tag Archives: death and dying
Whitman’s Poem a Lesson for War Hawks
In “The Wound-Binder,” Walt Whitman refuses to glorify war and only shows its bloody aftermath–a good thing to remember on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s final day.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Dulce et Decorum Est", "Wound-Binder", Civil War, Walt Whitman, war fever, Wilfred Owen | Comments closed
Hoping against Hope in the Face of Death
Following philosopher Adrienne Martin, I meditate on what it means to “hope against hope” or to have “unimaginable hope.” The texts I use are “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” “Beowulf,” and “Wizard of Earthsea.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Afghanistan, Beowulf, hope, Military, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Ursula K Le Guin, Wizard of Earthsea | Comments closed
San Luis Rey, a Bridge of Love
Wilder’s “Bridge of San Luis Rey” is a powerful book for those who have lost friends.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Bridge of San Luis Rey, Grief, Thornton Wilder | Comments closed
Singing a Lullaby to a Dead Child
I write about the lullaby I sang to my dead son and a Eugene Field poem it reminds me of.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Wynken Blynken and Nod", death of a child, Eugene Field | Comments closed
Can Donne Help Us Cope with Death?
Meditations on Margaret Edson’s “W;t”–with further reflections on whether Donne’s poetry can help us handle death.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Death Be Not Proud", "If Poisonous Minerals", "Valediction: Forbidding Mourning", Hamlet, John Donne, Margaret Edson, Margaret Wise Brown, May Justus, Runaway Bunny, W;t, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
How the Dead Talk to Us
Naomi Shihab Nye finds that the dead talk to us through the new closeness that we experience with those who remain.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Cinco de Mayo", All Hallow's Eve, All Souls Day, Naomi Shihab Nye | Comments closed
Trying (and Failing) to Shield Our Love
Stephen Crane captures the agony of loss.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "God Lay Dead in Heaven", Grief, Stephen Crane | Comments closed
A Message from the Mower in the Dew
Robert Frost’s “Tuft of Flowers” helped me grieve for my son in ways I am only beginning to understand.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Tuft of Flowers", grieving, Nature, Robert Frost | Comments closed
