Comments on: When Death Comes

By: Beverley

Beverley — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 02:05:34 +0000

In my ‘stuck’ state, I typed in ‘getting unstuck’…which brought up, amongst others, a 2005 article by Jenny Schroedel on Resistance and vocation. That choice led to this page. It is Wed. (!) It is 2010. Time is indeed an idea for me – having survived, each day is both amazing and frightening to me. Today I re-encountered the Public Library team at a literacy fundraiser – I was there on behalf of children who are blind or partially sighted, and all children who need funding for literacy programs. The hunger going unsatisfied frightens me, but the cruelty of which the hunger is a product frightens me more.

That is what ‘sticks’ me – the callous, cruel relegation of beautiful minds by those to whom material luxuries are supreme.

I can’t describe how it moved me to read Molly’s poem, and I want to share it with so many people. How can I do that, respectfully, and in some way that appreciates and supports Molly’s (and Jenny’s) gifts.

Beverley

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:46:22 +0000

This is really great, Jenny. I like the way Mary Oliver uses so many animals in her poetry, and this one is of course great for many other reasons, which I am too tired right now to enumerate. We had a very hectic, irregular week which prevented me from participating in poetry Wednesday. I can’t wait to join the circle again.

By: amber

amber — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:58:47 +0000

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.”

What more can I say, that about sums it all up.

That photo, by the way, looks it’s best here on your blog, next to this lovely poem.

By: jenny

jenny — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:48:55 +0000

Beth,

Thanks for the prayers for Ron!

By: Beth Johnson

Beth Johnson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:40:49 +0000

Jenny this poem is so beautiful as is the picture. A few days ago I awoke in the middle of the night with such a strong impression that I really will die someday. It is truly hard to grasp spiritually even though I rationally know it and experience it as loved ones pass from this world to the next. Prayers for Ron.

These are the lines which I especially loved.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
hen it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

Well I hear two little boys splashing in the sink. Should probably attend to them!

By: jenny

jenny — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:35:28 +0000

Molly,

Thanks so much for your comments. You saw that the photo is Amber’s right? She is amazing! I don’t know if you’ve visited her flickr site yet, but her name links to it. I find it so relaxing to browse her photos!

By: Molly Sabourin

Molly Sabourin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:19:40 +0000

And that photo is awesome, just really, really great, by the way!

By: Molly Sabourin

Molly Sabourin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:18:34 +0000

Viewing death as a perversion, something horrifically unnatural, I’d do best to avert my eyes and thoughts from makes me feel anxious and fragmented. I so appreciate your honest and open, yet hope-filled, viewpoint as well as Mary Oliver’s!

“I look at that candle flickering in the blue glass, and I remember that I, too, will die one day. This thought, always present before me, helps shape the way I live.”

That is beautiful, Jenny. This post is both comforting and convicting at the same time.