The Living Dead

~ Honouring our poetic ancestors ~

Epitaph
By Vivienne Blake

I will go down fighting
for that which I hold most dear:
for home and family and friends,
but when it’s time for me to go
I hope it’s without fear.

I want to lie in idleness
beneath my favourite tree.
Let my biodegradable body be compost,
ensure nature’s continuity
by adding to fertility:
enrich the soil with me.

I think you will know by now that we lost Viv on July 5th – a wonderful friend in the online poetry community, whom most of us never met in person but still treasured. Her daughter has posted this poem at her blog along with the announcement of her passing, and kindly gave me permission to feature it. It is Viv's own epitaph for herself, which she wrote in May 2014.

I'm sure we all echo her hopes for herself, in this poem which expresses her indomitable spirit.

I don't think I need to go into a lot of detail about Viv's life and interests, as she was so well-known to people here. But if you would like to refresh your knowledge, I refer you to the 'About Viv' page of her blog – and indeed, to the whole blog, which as well as her poetry contains fiction, memoir, and galleries of her quilting. She was multi-talented!

Now she becomes not only a greatly missed friend, but also one of the poets on whose shoulders we so gratefully stand.

Material shared in 'The Living Dead' is presented for study and review. Poems, photos and other writings remain the property of the copyright owners, where applicable (older poems may be out of copyright).

I Wish I'd Written This

After

By Lisa Brockwell

for Martina, on the occasion of her third birthday

All day she’s a nut: sparring

with the horses, running amok,

not listening to me, sneaking

away on our walk to chase

newborn calves.  She knows it’s wrong.

When I tell her off, she crawls

on her belly, contrite, begging

for mercy.  Ten seconds later,

she’s at it again.  The bugger.

But then, at night, after

all the dogs come inside, after

she’s had her dinner and slept

for a while, she comes to talk to me. 

No longer all go, a scatterbrain.

She gives me her head and we face

each other: window to window, soul

to soul.  One hand cupping each ear,

I kiss the bridge of her snout,

right between those glorious eyes,
she drops her head in my lap and deeply sighs.

Lisa Brockwell lives on a rural property near Byron Bay, Australia, with her husband and young son.  

That's close to home for me, but we haven't met in person yet. We encountered each other's poetry on Project 366, a blog for (mostly) Aussie poets and artists, where we were both guests during the month of June – an experience both rich and warm. We reconnected with people we already knew, and made new friends such as each other.

I'm sure I don't need to explain why I fell in love with this poem. I expect all the other soppy animal-lovers here to fall in love with it too – with the wonderful portrait, and above all that soul-to-soul communication so beautifully described in the second verse. 

I have since learned that Lisa was runner-up in the University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor’s International Poetry Prize in 2015; which doesn't surprise me. Her poems have been published in The Spectator, Australian Love Poems and Best Australian Poems (2014 & 2015). Her first collection, Earth Girls, was published in 2016 by Pitt Street Poetry and is available from that link. 

Also you can read more of her poems on her website. I particularly adore the prose-poem, 'On Becoming a Housewife for the First Time at the Age of 41'. There are a couple of excellent interviews there, too. The radio interview (with ABC North Coast) can be listened to as well as read, and I like it better that way – more detailed, and it includes a reading of her lovely poem from Australian Love Poems. I also like the other interview very much because she goes into her poetics in more depth. I look forward to acquiring her book!

Material shared in 'I Wish I'd Written This' is presented for study and review. Poems, photos and other writings remain the property of the copyright owners, usually their authors.

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Announcement

Now, sadly, a complete change of subject.

Some of you may have heard this already by now, but for those who have not – Vivienne Blake of the vivinfrance blog passed away suddenly on July 5th. She was in England visiting her family, and had expected to return to France this coming Sunday. I hope it is some comfort to her family that she was in the midst of happy times with them.

Viv was a warm and vibrant presence in the online poetry community, loved for her generosity of spirit, clear insights, groundedness and humour. She was so thoroughly engaged with living, it's hard to imagine the blogosphere without her. We'll miss her very much.

Life of a Poet ~ Viv Blake

by Sherry Blue Sky

Kids, today we're traveling to France, to stop by  Bistrot Viviennne, meet the famous Viv, enjoy some of her cappucino and chocolat, and ask her what life is like for a poet in France. (Can you think of a more romantic place to be a poet?) You will find Viv, on any given day, at Vivinfrance's Blog, whipping up a new batch of poems.

Poets United: Viv, it is so romantic that you live in France!!! Can you tell us a little bit about  your life and family?