I need poetry. This day is quickly going down the shitter.

[rubykatewriting]

Dirge Without Music

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, --- but the best is lost.

The answers quick & keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love,
They are gone. They have gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

katastrophe1187 commented with this poem in the ontd_political post about Neda Agha-Setan, who was murdered on Saturday. That post contains the video directly following her shooting and shows her very violent death. It is not for the faint of heart, but the vid was apparently posted to the web by her brother in hopes of preventing her death from being in vain. (Also, she is not, as originally reported, sixteen, but would have been twenty-seven this year.)

...Just click with care, folks.

Comments

[eglow23.livejournal.com]

I've been following those posts obsessively. ontd_political has been amazing for getting information quickly, and having a way to connect with people about it.

It's amazing how one woman can be transformed from just another casualty to a (much needed) face and name for the protest. Neda. Voice and call.

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

It makes it hard to ignore, you know? The realities of what these people are facing. And if it's true that she and her family were simply bystanders watching the protestors? All the more atrocious and useless.

[briary-flower.livejournal.com]

I agree that ontd has been doing a good job of getting the news out. In some ways, it's been one of my primary sources. I could do without the dispassionate commentary on how interesting it is to see someone actually die.

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

I give the bulk of the credit to lady_politik and bluetooth16 for keeping it all straight and running over there. I don't even know how they've managed, especially in the early days when they were going through a thread a day almost.

Yeah, I'm leaning more towards HORRIFYING. Like, I can never unsee that, or unhear the agony in her father's voice as he begged her to stay. And I really want those who cry out "exploitation" to sit down. You don't like it, don't watch it; there were warnings all over that post. This is their daily reality. As someone commented, it's not too much to ask "to bear witness."

[allthingsholy.livejournal.com]

Oh, that poem. Oh, that video. I'd been hearing about the Neda killing for awhile, but only got around to watching it just now. I just. Don't even have the words.

[rubykatewriting.livejournal.com]

It puts it all in perspective, doesn't it? Not to go all ONTD or anything, but THIS SHIT JUST GOT REAL for a lot of people. We can't ignore the reality of this situation anymore. These people just amaze me with their bravery.

The poem perfectly captures the anger of those left behind. Even all these years later, I remember how angry I was when my father died. I can remember having a meltdown when I couldn't find an item of clothing in my closet and just fucking raging at God. Grief isn't pretty – I think The Upside of Anger is one of the best depictions of it in recent memory, even though I do have a LOT of quibbles with a bulk of the film – and yet this poem makes that unprettiness beautiful and relatable.