magnificent… both joke and poem… thank you. Paul
On 12 Jan 2020, at 23:18, Nancy Trask via Dialogue <dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
First the amusing anecdote... from Karamo Brown of Queer Eye fame:
Karamo: You need not worry about death, you should worry about what state you’re in. Jonathan Van Ness (in a horrified whisper): New Jersey!
And the poetry: When Great Trees Fall > > by Maya Angelou When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, > lions hunker down > in tall grasses, > and even elephants > lumber after safety. > >
When great trees fall > in forests, > small things recoil into silence, > their senses > eroded beyond fear. > >
When great souls die, > the air around us becomes > light, rare, sterile. > We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, > see with > a hurtful clarity. > Our memory, suddenly sharpened, > examines, > gnaws on kind words > unsaid, > promised walks > never taken. >
Great souls die and > our reality, bound to > them, takes leave of us. > Our souls, > dependent upon their > nurture, > now shrink, wizened. > Our minds, formed > and informed by their > radiance, > fall away. > We are not so much maddened > as reduced to the unutterable ignorance > of dark, cold > caves. > >
And when great souls die, > after a period peace blooms, > slowly and always > irregularly. Spaces fill > with a kind of > soothing electric vibration. > Our senses, restored, never > to be the same, whisper to us. > ”They existed. They existed. > We can be. Be and be > better. For they existed.”
― Maya Angelou
Grace and peace,
Nancy Trask NLT462@gmail.com <mailto:NLT462@gmail.com> Nancy50273@centurylink.net <mailto:Nancy50273@centurylink.net> 515 505 0456 _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net