May Sarton’s “All Souls” finds that a new richness comes with mourning. We acknowledge how entwined we were with those who have passed on.
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Tag Archives: death and dying
Lost Human Voices Speak through Us
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "All Souls", "They Are All Gone into the World of Light", All Souls Day, John Vaughan, May Sarton, mourning | Comments closed
The Soul Longs to Return Whence It Came
Richard Eberhart’s “Soul Longs to Return Whence It Came” is a meditation up death and nature.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Soul Longs to Return Whence It Came", Autumn, Richard Eberhart, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | Comments closed
A Weary Pilgrim, Now at Rest
An Anne Bradstreet poem captures some of the spirit of the funeral for a close friend.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "As Weary Pilgrim Now at Rest", Anne Bradstreet | Comments closed
Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun
I lost a dear friend two days ago, one who was practically family. I turn to Shakespeare’s “Fear no more the heat of the sun” for solace.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Fear no more the heat of the sun", Cymbeline, William Boyd, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
Covid Costs Us Loved Ones’ Final Words
Among the many tragedies related to Covid is how family and friends are missing out on final words. Many literary works touch on the importance of this last encounter.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Aeschylus, Agamemnon, COVID-19, death bed words, Henry Fielding, Richard II, Song of Solomon, Tom Jones, Toni Morrison, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
Remembering My Son 20 Years Later
Remembering my oldest son, who died 20 years ago, I turn to Shelley’s elegy for Keats.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Adonais, Alfred Lord Tennyson, death of a child, In Memoriam, Percy Bysshe Shelley | Comments closed
The Sun Rises in Spite of Everything
A Derek Mahon poem read on Irish state television assures us that “Everything Is Going to Be All Right.”
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Everything Is Going to Be All Right", COVID-19, Derek Mahon, Illness | Comments closed
The Old Wild Place Beyond All Shame
My friend Sue Schmidt alerted me to this Easter season meditation by Richard Rohr that uses a David Whyte poem to explain what Jesus meant when he said, “Anyone who wants to save his life must lose it. Anyone who loses her life will find it.” Rohr believes that Jesus is not calling for people […]
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Old Wild Place", David Whyte, Nature, Resurrection, Richard Rohr | Comments closed
When Great Souls Die
Tuesday Today is the 19th anniversary of my oldest son’s death. When Justin died in a freak drowning accident in 2000, our world turned upside down. He was 21 at the time and would have been 40 this year. In “When Great Trees Fall,” Maya Angelou captures much of what I experienced. I’m struck by […]
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "When Great Trees Fall, Beowulf, death of a child, Grendel's mother, grief and grieving, Maya Angelou | Comments closed