Wednesday was just a perfect fall day! It was delightfully warm and sunny, there was a light breeze, and there was brilliant foliage. The foliage is lasting longer than usual this fall. Our day started (after we got going) with an outdoor poetry group at Kathy and Tom's place. There were only eight of us, sitting around a fire. It was inspired by Louise Glück winning the Nobel Prize in Poetry. None of us knew her poetry intimately, but we felt we should get acquainted and honor her. We each selected a poem or two by her, and we found that she is "un-sparing," as Ellen put it, dealing with hard truths and realities, not a comforting poet but a demanding one. We had a lovely time; Kathy had prepared two soups and Tom made quesadillas over the fire which were perfect. Mary Alice also read Susan Browne's Buddha's Dogs, which is very funny - very different from Louise Glück!
This is a poem by Glück that Ellen shared:
"I'll tell you something: every day
people are dying. And that's just the beginning.
Every day, in funeral homes, new widows are born,
new orphans. They sit with their hands folded,
trying to decide about this new life.
Then they're in the cemetery, some of them
for the first time. They're frightened of crying,
sometimes of not crying. Someone leans over,
tells them what to do next, which might mean
saying a few words, sometimes
throwing dirt in the open grave.
And after that, everyone goes back to the house,
which is suddenly full of visitors.
The widow sits on the couch, very stately,
so people line up to approach her,
sometimes take her hand, sometimes embrace her.
She finds something to say to everbody,
thanks them, thanks them for coming.
In her heart, she wants them to go away.
She wants to be back in the cemetery,
back in the sickroom, the hospital. She knows
it isn't possible. But it's her only hope,
the wish to move backward. And just a little,
not so far as the marriage, the first kiss."
We drove directly from Kathy and Tom's down to Shutesbury to Katie and Savanna's, basically to take showers but also to visit, of course. We sat outside under a blazingly colorful maple tree, Katie was suffering a lot of tooth pain and may need a root canal job. Our hearts go out to her - root canals are no fun! We ended up staying and having pizza with them - at separate tables!
Today (Thursday), we had lunch outside with Tom and Nancy Ragle at their home in Guilford. It was beautiful there. We each brought our own sandwiches. Tom and Nancy had a great deal to do, 44 years ago, with Shirley becoming the minister of the Guilford Church, and I worked with Tom for several years when I was Executive Director of the Vermont Higher Education Council and Tom was President of Marlboro College. Ellen has come to enjoy them very much as well, and we always have a lot to talk about. We also enjoy watching movies together, but that will have to wait. With all these visits we are not feeling at all cut off. We are always wearing masks and maintaining a distance, but it is very social.
Separate Tables
No comments:
Post a Comment