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.

dying is fine)but Death

e. e. cummings, 9written 1931, published 19350

 

dying is fine)but Death
 
?o
baby
i
 
wouldn't like
 
Death if Death
were
good:for
 
when(instead of stopping to think)you
 
begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be
 
cause dying is
 
perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but
 
Death
 
is strictly
scientific
& artificial &
 
evil & legal)
 
we thank thee
god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

 

“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen

Everybody Knows

“Everybody knows that everybody else is dying.”  – Stephen Jenkinson

Written after listening to Leonard Cohen’s 1988 release he wrote with Sharon Robinson

Everybody knows

                                    That everybody else is dying

Everybody knows

                                    That the planet is frying

Everybody knows

                                    That everybody else ain’t trying

Everybody knows

                                    The grim reaper is smiling

Everybody knows

                                    That there is no buy-in

Everybody knows

                                    That everybody else is lying

Everybody knows

                                    That somebody’s crying

Everybody knows

                                    There’s no use in sighing

Everybody knows

                                    That EVERY-BODY ELSE is dying

Everybody knows

                                    Everybody knows

Everybody knows

                                    Everybody knows

Everybody knows

                                    Everybody knows . . .

Milan Hamilton

August 19, 2025

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:

https://youtu.be/mbW87WBsObY