tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post616638547546412990..comments2023-10-03T18:30:42.773-05:00Comments on Meta Watershed: A WOMAN IS TALKING TO DEATHMaggie Jochildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07577090500862823864noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-8067559112843621172014-09-27T17:49:42.744-05:002014-09-27T17:49:42.744-05:00I read this poem every year also, on Yom Kippur (d...I read this poem every year also, on Yom Kippur (day of atonement in Jewish tradition) as a reminder and renewal of commitment to do what I can to not work for Death.Otterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04038068421999512352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-39864829979764711962014-09-27T17:48:28.038-05:002014-09-27T17:48:28.038-05:00I read this poem every year too, on Yom Kippur, as...I read this poem every year too, on Yom Kippur, as a reminder and renewal of commitment to do what I can to stop working for Death.<br />Otter in PhiladelphiaOtterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04038068421999512352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-73493847630131416212007-10-16T09:58:00.000-05:002007-10-16T09:58:00.000-05:00Gorgeous comment, dreaminginthedeepsouth. I like ...Gorgeous comment, dreaminginthedeepsouth. I like the idea of "no child in us" parents. Reminds me of Florence King's "self-rejuvenating virgin" -- although the Far Right has made that semi-joke a reality.<BR/><BR/>Whereabouts in the Deep South are you dreaming?Maggie Jochildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577090500862823864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-17572254095534347152007-10-13T12:06:00.000-05:002007-10-13T12:06:00.000-05:00A brilliant and prophetic poem. Better than Ginsbe...A brilliant and prophetic poem. Better than Ginsberg but like him. Thanks for the introduction. What an emotional whallop!<BR/>Your blog is wonderful.<BR/>The "being no child in me" -- what a wild metaphor for age, for being unmarried, the last of the lineage, being wholly accountable as a witness, a truthteller. There is a resonance to that even for those who have had, do have children. There's a part of us, indeed that has "no child in us" - knowing that death will take us, that everything will be erased. But there's a joy in that too, and so even in the darkness in the poem , the light of the human shines, shines.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-76282366964647273392007-10-09T18:42:00.000-05:002007-10-09T18:42:00.000-05:00ah, yes, of course. That makes a lot of sense.The...ah, yes, of course. That makes a lot of sense.<BR/><BR/>The jury's still out on my womb.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-31639453879934199132007-10-09T18:23:00.000-05:002007-10-09T18:23:00.000-05:00Great tip, little gator. And yeah, the will to nu...Great tip, little gator. And yeah, the will to nurture takes a glorious variety of forms.Maggie Jochildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577090500862823864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-46342468686959191372007-10-09T18:05:00.000-05:002007-10-09T18:05:00.000-05:00I've never had anything but grief from *my* womb. ...I've never had anything but grief from *my* womb. I sometimes wonder if my screwed up hormones were the reason I was never interested in being a mother to human children, though I've been told many times I'm quite maternal to my critters.<BR/><BR/>Did you know there's a blood test that can determine menopause? The Follical Stimulating Hormone, or FSH gets very high at meno as it tries, and fails, to release an egg. <BR/><BR/>It's normal low in premeno women even at the point on the cycle when it does its stuff. But at meno it climbs.little gatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12359345204074482888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-71202462203860998022007-10-09T16:59:00.000-05:002007-10-09T16:59:00.000-05:00Yeah, I think that's one meaning. But another is ...Yeah, I think that's one meaning. But another is (remember, she's a Lesbian-feminist) that this person has never given birth, and never will, and the limits we believe that imposes on our gender conditioning. The idea of womb as connecting one to the life force, and therefore giving you greater reason to not participate in destruction. I mean, she doesn't limit it to men, she refers to herself in that way as well. It's a metaphor, not literally about who has a womb and who doesn't. Like Myra, who's the ultimate mother yet has no interest at all in using her womb. <BR/><BR/>This is a poem about how "we do each other in, and that's a fact" -- an argument against that headset.<BR/><BR/>The section about the tanks sinking -- yes, it really happened. I saw a PBS special last year about World War II that covered it. Unbelievable.Maggie Jochildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07577090500862823864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576716365575919550.post-83145244407891103552007-10-09T16:16:00.000-05:002007-10-09T16:16:00.000-05:00good grief. I have to admit to never having read ...good grief. I have to admit to never having read any Judy Grahn before. this was the first time.<BR/><BR/>I'm absolutely floored.<BR/><BR/>Maggie, what's your interpretation of the repeating line about there not being a child in someone? <BR/>Meaning the innocence, compassion, wonder are all gone?<BR/><BR/>holy shit. I'm just gonna go back to sitting still, staring at the wall being overwhelmed....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com