Posted on by Catherine Arcolio

Goodbye My Dear Friend


He goes free of the earth.
The sun of his last day sets
clear in the sweetness of his liberty.

The earth recovers from his dying,
the hallow of his life remaining
in all his death leaves.

Radiances know him. Grown lighter
than breath, he is set free
in our remembering. Grown brighter
than vision, he goes dark
into the life of the hill
that holds his peace.

He’s hidden among all that is,
and cannot be lost.

Wendell Berry

 

16 Replies to “Goodbye My Dear Friend”

  1. Life in the 50's and beyond... – Ohio – Welcome to Life in the 50's and 60's and beyond .... where I write about my childhood memories, music of the 60's and about life in the country. I am a mother, grandmother, farmer's wife, business owner, and retired teacher.
    Life in the 50's and beyond... says:

    Beautiful poem. Thank you for introducing me to Wendell Berry. If you have suffered a loss recently, I am sorry.

    Reply

  4. wow, this one made me cry. And as much as I love the poem, I hadn’t read it in Bev’s honor. Thanks for this entry. I had actually retyped the poem using female pronouns and just read it again. I can’t shake Bev from my mind of late and some odd things are happening that somehow point to her presence. I LOVE the last line and know it to be true: she’s hidden among all that is and cannot be lost. love, M

    Reply
  5. inkpaintwords – A feminist writer and artist with a penchant for all things French, living in Washington DC. My love of language led me, indirectly, to my pleasure in gardening, drawing and watercolor. It began with a book, a collection of New Yorker garden columns by Katherine White, wife of its founding editor E.B.White. Her enthusiastic appraisal of the literary merit of various garden catalogs led me to collect and keep her favorites as well as to hoard with them some more recently-emerged seed, bulb and seed catalogs. The beautiful catalogs inspired me to little by little turn our entire front lawn (our home had a wooded ravine close behind) into a garden. That grew into a lovely site with two simple arches, a gliding bench on a little sitting patio and modest slate paths winding through beds of shade lovers and whatever plants supposedly in need of full sun that I could manage to coax into colorful healthy bloom. A curiosity about color and color theory emerged as I became keenly interested in impressionist painters; that interest merged in some way with my urge to garden. I acquired more than one book about Monet’s garden and gardens of other impressionist painters, both French and American. One day I picked up a magazine for painters, and found inside an article about a painter I’d known. Among examples of her splendid watercolor paintings was her watercolor of her garden at that time. Suddenly I could think of nothing more exciting than painting my garden. I enrolled in her watercolor class in The Art League in Alexandria, VA. The influence that the collection of Katherine White’s columns about the literary merits of certain garden catalogs has had on my life has come full now. Ink, Paint & Words combines what has become an obsession with drawing and watercolor with my passion for language. Yes, I still garden. A table full of blooming potted plants sits on my apartment patio, backed by an ivy covered fence with park trees behind. My patio, and my larger environment of Washington DC, together provides wonderful vistas for drawing and painting. For a number of years annual trips to France gave me and my companions extravagantly colorful panoramas and charming tableaux for brush and pen. And yes, now I’ve painted in Monet’s gardens several times. But that, as they say, is another story.
    inkpaintwords says:

    Like!

    Reply
  6. Ogee – I am a nascent gardener, rescuer, and photographer, chronicling the journey of the dogs at Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary near Sacramento, CA - and the Memorial Garden we have devoted to them.
    Ogee says:

    I’ll save, share at the right times, and treasure this one. Thank you.

    Reply
  7. Earth Under my Feet – A former journalist with a travel addiction, who has ventured back into writing to share my journey of discovery. Where this is going to take me I have no idea, but I look forward to the trip. I love walking and hiking and this blog, apart from documenting my travels, celebrates the fact that despite being diagniosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I am able to not only walk but hike. High on my bucket list is the Camino de Santiago - or at least completing part of it. I am innately curious about the world around me and fascinated by people and the real story behind the story. I'm not a foodie per se but I love good food and wine. It's in abundance in Cape Town where I live. The concept of slow food interests me the most as does growing my own herbs and vegetables in a tiny garden on the side of the house. It's a constant battle, but I'm determined to get it right! I love animals and nature and wide open spaces and always seek out the hidden backstreet places rather than the main touristy ones.
    The Earth Beneath My Feet says:

    Beautiful!

    Reply
  9. mybeautfulthings – Cornwall, UK – Finding the beautiful in the everyday - I write about three things each day which please me in some way - people, food, art, nature, words, music and anything that makes me smile and which I hope will make you smile too.
    mybeautfulthings says:

    That is a very beautiful poem. I send you love in your loss.

    Reply
  11. heavenhappens – Welcome to my life. You can share my grown up world here at http://heavenhappens.me where I blog my thoughts, my life, my travels, my photographs and my poetry. Growing up just after the war was a grim experience. So, now that I have 7 grandchildren, I am reclaiming my childhood by seeing the world anew through their eyes. Every minute I spend with them is magical. So this blog is for them ~ Ben, Rosie, Tiffany, Stanley, Thea, Mateo, and the youngest, Olivia! I hope, when they are all grown up, they will enjoy reading it and finding out about their grandma’s life, and know how very happy they made her. I hope you enjoy reading my posts, leave a comment or a link and I will get back to you. I’m sorry to say that my darling husband died of Covid on Good Friday 2020. Since then the wind has gone out of my sails and I’ve hardly written a thing. I will try to pick up my life and start writing again one day. But for now please enjoy exploring my life🕊️
    heavenhappens says:

    Wonderful words, a beautiful tribute to your friend.

    Reply
  13. Stacy – I am a native New Orleanian, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a middle-grade author, and a GenXer. Pop on over and say hey! Toodles!
    Stacy Lyn says:

    What a beautiful way to express loss. <3

    Reply

  14. I like these lines very much – thank you for sharing them along with the beautiful image.

    Reply

  16. I just found this. It was linked to the wild strawberries today. I can see the connection. Nature both mirrors and shares our losses, while at the same time providing the consolation of beauty and hope. Thanks for all the connections you make. The Berry poem meant a lot too.

    Reply

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