Reading from the Waves
Virginia Woolf's passing day
Today is the anniversary of Virginia Woolf’s passing day. A day she chose for herself. In remembrance here are words from The Waves. Below is a Polaroid of her cane, which was found by the River Ouse where she took her life. It is a simple yet sturdy cane, that no doubt had served her well. I am also including the song Elegy from the 1975 album Horses. A song I wrote in memory of artists and loved ones we had lost. I have always believed that it is important that we the living honor the departed.
Thank you for reading from The Waves. Woolf's images are transformative. And, of course, Elegie is the perfect ending to one of the all-time great albums. Isn't it strange that you wrote '...but I think it's sad, it's much too bad, that our friends can't be with us today' while your work over the past few decades has shown the opposite to be equally true, that those who have died are still very much with us every time we read their words, sing their songs, see their paintings, every time we remember the touch of their hands, the joy of their laughter as we walked the streets together. The loss is heart-breakingly real but they are here when we remember them in our imagination, in our conversation, in our dreams. The living charge at Death and say 'You might take the body but the spirit lives on in our hearts'. Thanks, Patti, for doing what you do to help keep so many great souls alive.
“I was always going to the bookcase for another sip of the divine specific " V. Woolf. love this piece. Elegy so short and fitting as life is ephemeral