Resisting

Regular readers of my blog know that I often use the phrase "the presence of absence."  This was in a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  It is such an apt way of expressing the reality of life in the land of grief ( this phrase from a friend).  Grievers often talk about the little, unexpected occurrences which trigger episodes of sadness, i.e., the presence of absence.  There are times when I expect the absence to be profound that turn out to be non-emotional and then those, of which, there are many that catch me unprepared.   While I've moved far toward acceptance there is also that within me that rebels against the reality of absence. This spirit of rebellion is captured in this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

"Dirge without Music

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, — but the best is lost.
The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned."

Takk for alt

Al

 PS A quote from Garrison Keillor; The Writer's Almanac 

"The absolute dumbest thing I’ve seen on Facebook is “Find out who you are and be that person and live that truth and everything else will come,” which I saw last week. Anyone who actually believes it should not be allowed to handle sharp objects. We are contradictions is who we are and we need to get them under control and learn to be of use to the world around us.

“Find out who you are and be that person.” That is exactly what our commander-in-chief has done and that’s why half of America is whooping and hollering — they love that he makes the other half of America grind their molars."