I know all spirits but my own

[sovay]

curtsey, salute and roundabout
we go by turns but never out

we turn the world away from night
we raise the sun, we bring the light

if we don't act the way we should
too bad for you. We're here for good.

and begin again

—Phyllis Gotlieb, Ordinary, Moving (1969)

זכרונה לברכה.

Comments

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Another person I wish I'd known better; I saw her just glancingly this Saturday, moving from one place to another at high speed (though being pushed in a chair), surrounded by chatting friends. Fast is a good way to go, when you think about it.

[sovay]

I saw her just glancingly this Saturday, moving from one place to another at high speed (though being pushed in a chair), surrounded by chatting friends.

I am glad to hear that.

Fast is a good way to go, when you think about it.

Yes.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

May she rest in peace.

I'm sorry for your/the community's loss.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

I. Have. Had. Quite. Enough. Of. This. Summer. And. All. Its. Death.

[sovay]

I. Have. Had. Quite. Enough. Of. This. Summer. And. All. Its. Death.

I am knocking on wood with my fingers crossed for the month of August.

[kerrickadrian.livejournal.com]

May her memory be for a blessing.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Lovely lovely poem to choose for commemoration.

[sovay]

Lovely lovely poem to choose for commemoration.

I recommend everything she ever wrote, poetry or fiction. A Judgment of Dragons (1985) was an early and profound influence on my childhood—"Son of the Morning" is an integral part of my brain on Jewish folklore. I tried to write telepathy for years because of her. All through college, I scoured bookstores for her back catalogue. For God's sake, her collection Red Blood Black Ink White Paper: New and Selected Poems 1961—2001 is my most recent purchase of poetry. I am desperately sorry there will be no more!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

These words really touch me. They make me sad that I didn't know her (through her writing).

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

And a lovely lovely song.

Nine

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

זכרונה לברכה.

??

[sovay]

??

זכרונה לברכה: zichronah liv'rachah, may her memory be for a blessing. It is a traditional reference to the dead, sort of like may s/he rest in peace with more focus on the living. There is a term for these sorts of phrases, but I am brain-dead and cannot remember it. In any case, it is a positive statement.