One World At A Time
Rannoch - December 7, 2007
A friend of mine here in Edinburgh recently had the difficult task of writing a card of condolence for the family of a cousin who had passed away. There seems little one can say at such a time.
A few years ago I came across a poem by Raymond Carver in a collection called “A New Path To The Waterfall” written a point where he had beaten alcohol and was fighting cancer.
“Late Fragment”
And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth.
I couldn’t think of a better sentiment, certainly one that you would want to reflect your life. There is that rare occasion when we get a hint of our mortality. It is then you need to tell those around you just how much you love them.
Later has a way of becoming never. Do it now.
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Yes!! Received the shirt, thank you. It’s a beauty. I’ll be taking pics very soon and will definitely send them over.
Hey Howie,
Nice to see you drop by. Did the Shirt show yet? I’m hoping you’ll send me a pic for the website.
R
Very touching Rannoch. It’s amazing how fragile we truly are. Every now and again it’s sobering to reflect on such.
Chris,
It’s a fantastic collection of poems. For someone who wrestled his own demons,cut to the core of America in his fiction, in this final collection of poems he seemed to make peace with his world.
On the same subject,I love the following -
“No more satisfying deathbed utterance can be imagined for Thoreau than the reply to a question put gently to him by Parker Pillsbury a few days before his death. Pillsbury was an old abolitionist war-horse, a former minister who had left his church over the slavery issue, a man of principle and proven courage who…could not resist the impulse to peer into the future. “You seem so near the brink of the dark river,” Pillsbury said, “that I almost wonder how the opposite shore may appear to you.” Thoreau’s answer summed up his life, “One world at a time,” he said.”
Rannoch,
Beautiful poem. Appropriate sentiment. I should only add not to wait to the times when you feel your mortality. In my business, I am reminded too often that no one is guaranteed even the next 5 minutes. Make the most of THESE five minutes.
Jen
That is beautiful. Thanks for posting
Chris