I’m not sure why, but I love Auden’s Stop All the Clocks poem when thinking about loved ones who die:
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
I think this poem speaks to me because for a few moments you want time to stand still so you don’t have to think about the loss of your loved one. Nothing, however, in this poem, is like our dear friend and sister Tina. Tina blogged at Life is Good and was a fabulous organizer and co host at Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Despite her many health challenges, Tina (my pet name for her was Cheese Girl), kept a stiff upper lip and her raging sense of humor. I don’t know how she did it. Life is crazy enough as it is but then to have the health problems she did and maintain a sense of humor shows her strength of character.
When she went in to the hospital she would tell us she’s on a mini vacation.
But now she isn’t suffering anymore.
I ask two things of you today:
#1 Hug your loved ones. HARD.
#2 Have a moment of silence for someone you love who’s gone.
Thanks for the laughs Tina. You will be missed.
