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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

For the Dead: Adrienne Rich (1929-2012)

In Memory of Adrienne Rich (born May 16, 1929, died March 28, 2012)
For The Dead
by Adrienne Rich

I dreamed I called you on the telephone
to say: Be kinder to yourself
but you were sick and would not answer

The waste of my love goes on this way
trying to save you from yourself

I have always wondered about the left-over
energy, the way water goes rushing down a hill
long after the rains have stopped

or the fire you want to go to bed from
but cannot leave, burning-down but not burnt-down
the red coals more extreme, more curious
in their flashing and dying
than you wish they were
sitting long after midnight



Feminist, poet and anti-war activist, Adrienne Rich passed away today. Her voice lives on, in her literary works and a litany of actions she had involved herself in, in her long and laudatory life. Advocate for woman's rights, ardent defender of the poor and the underprivileged, Rich's principles gave potency to her words that will continue to spring to life in her passionate prose and poetry.

6 comments:

Thrifted Shift said...

Thank you for posting this. I didn't know. The poem is beautiful.
--TS

Unknown said...

I was wondering why I was seeing so many Adrienne Rich comments. I didn't know she had passed. That's a loss; she contributed much to the world, especially on behalf of the most vulnerable among us.

Anonymous said...

Wednesdays are my long day and I had not heard this news until I saw your post. I have used so many of her poems in my classes that it truly gives me pause...

doradadama said...

Amor what a special beautiful poem.
Que Dios la tenga en su gloria.
besitos

The Style Crone said...

I am a lover of Adrienne Rich's work. Thank you for the poem, the tribute, and spreading the word of her many contributions.

Stacey said...

I can't believe I didn't realise! Thank you for this post.