<div dir="auto">Thank you Milan. When my partner died 7 years ago, I listened to Cohen for weeks b4 letting his memory go. It was good to feel the grief sing its way home.<div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Memories of Joy and Gene and Larry, even though their bidies are very dead, will continue by what we have learnrd with their presence on Earth.</div><div dir="auto">Grieve peacefully, judi White</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sat, Aug 23, 2025, 1:36 PM Milan Hamilton via OE <<a href="mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net">oe@lists.wedgeblade.net</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>We watched a podcast last weekend by our "climate mentor" Nate Hagens interviewing Stephen Jenkinson, author of Die Wise: A manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), who quipped during the conversation "Yeah, everybody knows that somebody else is dying." The discussion centered on our culture's baked in way of (not) dealing seriously with death and grief as deep experience (different from loss of someone or something and moving on). This of course brought up our history in the Order: Ecumenical. Then to be smacked up against THREE of US making that transition in mystery in the same week! Will our grieving be able to honor them? Will our grieving for the earth and her beings be up to the task. Or will we just be sorry for the loss of them and move on? I offer the following poem from our common library on the subject of death and dying, and one I wrote in response to the quote I mentioned.</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="https://allpoetry.com/dying-is-fine)but-Death" style="color:rgb(70,120,134)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">dying is fine)but Death</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">e. e. cummings, 9written
1931, published 19350</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">dying is fine)but Death <br>
<br>
?o<br>
baby<br>
i<br>
<br>
wouldn't like<br>
<br>
Death if Death<br>
were<br>
good:for<br>
<br>
when(instead of stopping to think)you<br>
<br>
begin to feel of it,dying<br>
's miraculous<br>
why?be<br>
<br>
cause dying is<br>
<br>
perfectly natural;perfectly<br>
putting<br>
it mildly lively(but<br>
<br>
Death<br>
<br>
is strictly<br>
scientific<br>
& artificial &<br>
<br>
evil & legal)<br>
<br>
we thank thee<br>
god<br>
almighty for dying<br>
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“I’m
not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody
Allen</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody Knows</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“Everybody knows that everybody
else is dying.” – Stephen Jenkinson</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Written
after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That
everybody else is dying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That the
planet is frying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That
everybody else ain’t trying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> The grim
reaper is smiling</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That there
is no buy-in</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That
everybody else is lying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That
somebody’s crying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> There’s no
use in sighing</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> That <b><i>EVERY-BODY
ELSE</i></b> is dying</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Everybody
knows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Everybody
knows . . .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;line-height:normal;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Milan Hamilton</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">August
19, 2025</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Times New Roman, serif">Here is a link to the poem put to music and published on my YouTube channel as part of my offering to our grieving and honoring process:</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 6pt;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><a href="https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY</a></p></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Mellow Milan Hamilton<div>80 North Center Street</div><div>Redlands, CA 92373</div><div>Phone: (909) 943-1667</div><div>email: <a href="mailto:mellowmilan2@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">mellowmilan2@gmail.com</a></div></div></div></div>
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