seeking: a room of my own

Virginia Woolf

the powerful play goes on

Kiki Smith - Lilith (1994), Metropolitan Museum

O Me! O life! by Walt Whitman

O Me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who  more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

“Life’s but a walking shadow”

My grandmother died a week ago, November 23, 2009.

She was a special woman, a survivor. We began cleaning out her apartment two days ago, unlocking memories, touching her clothing, rediscovering  dolls, jewelry and pictures I treasured as a child.

We leave this world alone, just our souls and deeds, without the stuff we work so hard to acquire.

May her memory be a blessing unto us, Syma daughter of Shmuel.