Sisters of Mercy

We were so brutal to each other.  I wonder why siblings do that to each other.  I remember we once had S#5 convinced that she was adopted.  She was in tears.  I mean, who would adopt a ninth child that looks exactly like the other eight??  And of course, she asked Mom, and of course we told her that Mom would lie...You looked just like the rest of us, you simply had dark hair like Grammy.  As the rest of us ripened and lost our baby blond - you blended, we all blended.  But we focused on the difference to hurt each other.

As my young friend got older, she began to distance herself from her mother.  Once she had children, she called her mom on everything and insisted they go to counseling together.  The mom refuses to see that she has done anything wrong.  She can rationalize everything.

People who don't fit in forge new paths.  Not being recognized by mainstream, or by poets, is a blessing.  You are forging something they can't understand.  Your grandchildren or maybe your great-grandchildren will get it!

I found a quote that's been on my mind all day:

As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.   - Mary Anne Radmacher

I wondered if it kind of described what we were doing.  Which reminded me of when a close friend and I were doing some anti-militarism activism, a local radio personality dedicated a song to us: Sisters of Mercy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZJ7cQfNzbo

And the lyrics:


Sisters of Mercy 
                           -Leonard Cohen

O the sisters of mercy they are not
Departed or gone,
They were waiting for me when I thought
That I just can't go on,
And they brought me their comfort
And later they brought me this song.
O I hope you run into them
You who've been traveling so long.

Yes, you who must leave everything
That you cannot control;
It begins with your family,
But soon it comes round to your soul.
Well, I've been where you're hanging
I think I can see how you're pinned.
When you're not feeling holy,
Your loneliness says that you've sinned.

Well they lay down beside me
I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes
And I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf
That the seasons tear off and condemn
They will bind you with love
That is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping,
I hope you run into them soon.
Don't turn on the light
You can read their address by the moon;
And you won't make me jealous
If I hear that they sweeten your night
We weren't lovers like that
And besides it would still be all right
We weren't lovers like that
And besides it would still be all right.

Tonight, I am dedicating it to us.  It is our journey, it seems.  And if poet Robert Service wouldn't understand, well, I think Leonard Cohen would!

Very late dinner -    roasted roots and salad...I'll see you tomorrow.  I love you very much!

Clare