Poetry Thursday: In memoriam, Ann Richards

[icy_sushi]

I just read that Ann Richards died. I was in college in Texas during her governorship and I've always admired her. She wasn't afraid to be a woman, and she knew that as a woman, she had the power to take on any man. She was funny, smart, and one of the few aspects of Texas I actually liked while I was there. I campaigned for her (to the extent that I was able - I wasn't actually registered to vote in Texas), and was devastated when she lost to Dubya. I was proud to see her go on without bitterness to other useful endeavors, both in politics and society. She was one-of-a-kind, and I'm a better person for having been exposed to her. I can't say that I agree with every policy decision she ever made, or every viewpoint that she espoused, but I can say that I admire the fact that she always seemed to work hard to make things right to the best of her ability and understanding. And she never backed down from admitting a mistake or shortcoming. She was an incredible woman and this country needs more like her. Rest in peace, Ann. You made a difference.

In Memoriam A.H.H.

V.

I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel;
For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the Soul within.
But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies;
The sad mechanic exercise,
Like dull narcotics, numbing pain.

In words, like weeds, I’ll wrap me o’er,
Like coarsest clothes against the cold:
But that large grief which these enfold
Is given in outline and no more.

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson