Poetry Thread to honour Claire
by Penelope (Member) - published: November 3, 2005
Word Count: 248 Word Bytes: 1587 Viewed: 2166 times
Category - The Thread
© Copyright by Penelope

(2 votes)

Rating	Rated by

10	G.S.VASUKUMAR

10	LMJ

You must login to vote

Dear Friends at LitOrg

I just heard the sad news about Claire's death. I remember Claire's poetry threads and how much enjoyment we all shared. I thought beginning a thread would be a way to pay tribute to a woman who brought many of us much joy.

To begin, here is Claire's own poem which was posted on LitOrg November 2nd, 2005 by evilv.

The Last Gift

Don't mourn for me, or grieve or cry
Or rail at gods and ask them why.
Dreams used up, joy at an end
Makes death, not life, a man's best friend.

To covet death with tasks undone
Is to seek a prize one hasn't won.
But to sail gently into that goodnight
when life is gone, is just and right.

And "what is life?" the critics say
Who seek labored breath another day.
Did the gods intend mechanical hum
To replace the song that built a home?

Our charge to use our talents well
Was preparation for the place we'd dwell;
When waking hours are blind with pain
Why can't we just go home again?

No love to give, no way to take
No contribution can we make;
And when in prayer we beg release
Can't your prayer be "give them peace".

Your arrogance in this assumes
That I must fear what likely looms;
But letting go is not a deed
That's done to you, but a gift for me.

copyright 2004 - Claire Robinson
All rights reserved
(posted by evilv)

------
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" - Eleanor Roosevelt

Related Items

Beware of Lurking Quirks

More by Penelope »

Comments

The following comments are for "Poetry Thread to honour Claire"
by Penelope

Claire's Thread...
That your words made their mark
That you were my light in the dark
That your voice was loud and clear
That your love was so sincere
That your ways were right and true
That you were sincerely you
That our paths met at all
That you softened my heavy fall
That you were a dear sweet friend
Means our love will never end.

( Posted by: tinalouise [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

note to Pen...
Lovely idea from a lovely soul who knows how to unite. Thanks for making a sacred place Pen :) Namaste

( Posted by: tinalouise [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

Farewell to Claire
Her colours were red, white and blue.
Passion sense with Claire buoyant view.
The throng is sighing and grieving.
She's gone and we all mourn her leaving.

A sentry for shared common ground.
Good humour while breaching profound.
Threads picked up just like she was weaving.
She's gone and we all mourn her leaving.

Flags wave, in the breeze, at half-mast.
We proudly mark glory days of the past.
Memories won’t fade if friends are cleaving.
She's gone and we all mourn her leaving.

Oh, how Claire cared so much for us all.
If we felt small, she'd make us stand tall.
Finding more joy in giving than receiving.
She's gone and we all mourn her leaving

Pen

( Posted by: Penelope [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

Pen
I was hoping someone would start this, and I didn't have a piece to contribute. I have been hesitant to become that vulnerable lately. Thank you for doing this. I am going to paper to think of Claire.

Lans

( Posted by: GibsonGirl [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

Claire's thread
And when we disagreed,
as we often did,
you stood fast with grace,
you argued with dignity,
you committed to understanding.
You earned respect
through strength of character.

( Posted by: Viper9 [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

very very sad.
I'm learning this news with a very heavy heart.
I simply don't have the words to write a poem at the moment; I need to let the news sink in, then maybe I'll be able to write something. But I wanted to post here anyway just to say how sad I am to hear it.
Thank you Pen for letting me know.

( Posted by: Spudley [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

Beautiful Claire...go with God
I hadn't heard of her death until Pen just told me. As you all know by now...Claire and I had a loving relationship...for the last four years.

She had sworn me to secrecy about her fatal illness for the last year and a half...and kept up our correspondence after she left Lit.org.
However, she abruptly stopped e-mailing me for the last couple of months and wouldn't return mine. Knowing her as I did...I realized that she didn't want to worry me if the end was near so all I could do was increase my prayers to God in her behalf.

I will miss her terribly...she has left a void in my heart that will never be filled...I was indeed "her Gran!"

Home At Last

Why do you weep?
For I have come home
I sit at the feet of the Lord
And all is well
My long journey is over
And I am at peace
For I have seen the face of God
I have asked the angels
Who guided me here
To watch over you
Till we meet again

I will always be with you in spirit
And though you may not see me
I will always be at your side
I will never be far away
Keep your faith in God
For he has kept his promise
That all who believe in him
Shall see the Kingdom of Heaven

Do not mourn for me
Rather, rejoice that my suffering is over
I have completed my life's journey
And I am home with God at last.

Bea

( Posted by: Beatrice Boyle [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

honoring Claire
I didn't know her well, but she was the only person to read and comment on my very first submission to the site. I was glad just to have someone read something I wrote, and offer some constructive criticism; but Claire didn’t just comment. She was kind to me in her comments – at a time when I was new to the site, and not comfortable with sharing. I was feeling especially vulnerable, and her comments gave me courage. She said she really liked it – at a time when I wasn’t so sure I liked it. Kindness. Consideration. Validation. These three words best describe my first, and most lasting impression of Claire.

I didn’t know her well, but for what I knew of her, she was wonderful.

( Posted by: rajengineer [Member] On: November 3, 2005 )

At a Loss
This is the first article I've read at a Lit in a while and it's a massive understatement to say that hearing Claire has passed away is startling, unnerving and deeply sad. It seems to me that none of us got to know her well enough, yet she left such an indelible mark on everyone she touched.

What a beautiful and appropriate idea to start a poetry thread in her honour, Pen.

( Posted by: hazelfaern [Member] On: November 4, 2005 )

Claire's Candle
Claire reminds me of a birthday candle that refuses to burn out no matter how hard we try to extinguish it...her light will never falter, but burn brightly on, thanks to the myriad of friends that she has made and befriended during her lifetime.

We will always cherish you claire...your light will burn bright in our hearts forever. The void you have left in my heart however, can never be filled.

As always,

Love,
Gram

Saying Goodbye

Old friend, how could you have slipped away
As shadows faded at dawn of day
And I... blissfully unaware
In slumber lay?

When last we met and shared some wine
Laughed together, feeling fine
How could we not know
It was our last?

We talked of this and some of that
And watched the sunset while we sat
Never dreaming for a moment
We would part

We reminisced of days gone by
How the years seem to fly
All the while not knowing
You would die

Now I stand alone to grieve
Not believing you would leave
Without first telling me
Goodbye

When the landlord in the sky
Hands you the key as you fly by
Remember...and reserve a room
For me

( Posted by: Beatrice Boyle [Member] On: November 4, 2005 )

Claire view
One cannot help but note the many, discouraged whom Claire encouraged.

My muse lost in gloom,
a warm light was Lit-
Claire’s candle, bright
shed her brief light on it

Sharp wit wielded gently,
agree to disagree-
Claire Lit the lamp
that first guided me

How selfish to mourn you,
perhaps you’d agree-
You met your fate bravely
and eager to see

( Posted by: drsoos [Member] On: November 4, 2005 )

Poetry Thread
I Am Not To Write

I am not to write about
extinguished stars,
not again.
Not about a dead poet,
a real dead poet,
not yet.
Not about a dead singer,
nor a dead artist
and a real lover and inventor of arts,
heck no.
I am not to write about extinguished stars.

Instead, I am to write about stars
that dance for me dazzlingly
and One to even shine in Her brightest
and become immortal
as the constellation of St. Francis of Assisi,
Capote,
Da Vinci,
Maxl Planck,
Beethoven,
Hippocrates.
I am not to write about extinguished stars.

I am to write about love that knows,
that finds,
that looks in the windows,
and in between some loves
that got lost but found,
like Her our superstar,
in our hearts
and our home, this valley.
I am to write about love
according to her definition from now on,
and in between those that are of my own,
those that learned from her,
but I am not to write about extinguished stars.

I am not to write about extinguished stars.

I am not to write about extinguished stars.

--------------------------
Dear Claire, I am going to miss you terribly. How to LOLOL and LOLOLOL again with no you? However, I will have no questions like Why, my heart already knows. Hugs and kisses. I will keep your songs, play them so as not to miss you that bad. Mwah!

( Posted by: peterpaulino [Member] On: November 4, 2005 )

A light
All I can say is that a wonderfull light has gone out down here and hope that where it is shinning now will love it as much as we did.

( Posted by: chapter1 [Member] On: November 5, 2005 )

Loss
What can I say? I hate to have to return under such circumstances, but I couldn't remain silent through this. Alas, I still have no poetry in me for now, but I've offered my prayers for Claire, her friends, and family, including all affected here at Lit. She was quite an amazing woman, and, for a while, we were quite close. I hadn't heard from her in over a year, though, and now I understand a little better as to why. I still am uncertain of the matters relating and leading to this, unfortunately, but I know she will be truly missed by many, and will find this truly honouring.

Frieden, mein freunde,
William A. Corder

( Posted by: the Co.konspirator [Member] On: November 5, 2005 )

Claire
Though I didn't care for Claire's politics, I liked and respected her for her sincerity and staying true to her self. Her heart was always in the right place.

I don't have a Claire poem, but if I may offer up an older poem regarding death:

* * *

BIRD MUMMY

fold the wings in
tie them to the bony cage-breast
the crack of beak-mouth calling now
in another sky -
band the talons
the abused and bony toe flowers -
gather this array of fallen skysticks
these death reeds in a lake
in the black evening
where a loon cries
because it is alive.

( Posted by: gomarsoap [Member] On: November 5, 2005 )

Valiant
Anyone for whom such poetry is offered must have been special beyond prose. (Peter, you always write from a lyrical heart. And Gomar… had I had this piece in my mind at the death of my grandmother - shrunken and birdlike with cancer - would I have cried more, or less? Either way, in retrospect, I will always have it now.)
This thread is making a valiant stand to save the site from inelegance and infighting. And for that alone, I’m honoured to observe it.

( Posted by: MobiusSoul [Member] On: November 5, 2005 )

claires thread
Clairesbest
a poetic treasure chest
lyrical gems
many rated as tens
a Texas smile
political hutspah and guile
sincere and dear
no more need for fear
Clairesbest
she's now with God to rest

may you dance and sing with the angels

All my love
bob

( Posted by: rcallaci [Moderator] On: November 5, 2005 )

Claire (Beautiful Poets)
Where do your minds wander off to
when you tire of the simple things?
So suddenly a tiny leaf takes life
in beautific words your ink brings.

Such brilliant souls that transform
any aspect of life to new meaning.
Sometimes your readers will wonder
which direction you are leaning.

You may be the queen of brevity
or the king of magical fairy tales.
Yet we all have those terrible
times that our writing mind fails.

When I read your words you are much
more than a writer I have never met.
More often then naught I leave this
place with my eyes gleaming wet.

Between the lines you write to me
so many other thoughts about you.
Without your realization, at times
words will convey an honest view.

There are the times I would rather
believe the written angst is unreal.
Or the betrayal, loss, and loneliness
is actually not at all what you feel.

Poems that reach me, teach me and
some that arouse a growing desire.
Others that enlighten me, frighten
me, ones my curiousity will tire.

Lately I do wonder where familiar
names are gracing unfamilar pages.
Changes are followed as each writer
begins to grow at different stages.

So like all places writers and
readers will always come and go.
There have been those special ones
that I've been blessed to know.

With modern technology I am here
in an instant at my own leisure.
To read, write and respond to
many writers, my sincere pleasure.

Dareva

Since Claire was a beautiful Artist with a love of poetry and music, and left us with so much of her, I dedicate this Poem to Claire.

Wherever you are, beautiful spirit, those stars will shine and illuminate breathtaking hues.

( Posted by: Dareva [Member] On: November 6, 2005 )

All About Claire-Exposed
Since we have so many new members who never knew Claire as we did, I thought it fitting that we afford them the opportunity of hearing about her in her own words...her own exposed interview.

http://www.lit.org/view/13706

This series will always be a monument to her, and her generosity to all of us here.

Bea

( Posted by: Beatrice Boyle [Member] On: November 7, 2005 )

This is shocking news...
...First I get to know recently that Claire had left Lit.org. Now the saddest and heartening news that she is no more with us.

She was a wonderful person. I really miss her and her wonderful comments. I pray that she should return as a poet again.

I am too shocked to write a poem on her. So sorry.

GSVK

( Posted by: G.S.VASUKUMAR [Member] On: November 7, 2005 )

Claire
I am no poet, but I felt I had to say good bye to this great and wonderful woman who I came to know as my friend on the net.

( Posted by: lonewarrior [Member] On: November 8, 2005 )

Claire's Best
…The Living Song soars ,
from those lifeless ashes,
to stir the Spirit
till the end of Time .

( Posted by: RJKT [Member] On: November 8, 2005 )

Best Always
They’re always too young,
and it never is fair.
We who remain
are always caught unaware.
We always think
they’ll always be there.
Then, when one slips away,
we’re reminded to care
about those special souls
who love and give and share.
We realize
We don’t find them everywhere,
and shed a tear
for that breath of fresh air –
uniquely sweet.
We’ll miss you, Claire.

( Posted by: poeteye [Member] On: November 9, 2005 )

A Poet's Soul
A poet’s soul never dies.
It is whispered in the winds
of a million years - filling
the ears and souls it touches.

Each word when silent or spoke
turns back time - and thus,
the poet is alive again - and so
remains in each readers mind.

A poet is - a poets words.
Naked in every word - telling
everything in it’s most
raw and unglorified truth.

A poet is an artist of words -
Painting pictures a canvas
could never hold - and revealing
the world as it could be.

Yes, I poet’s soul never dies.
It is forever building new homes,
and has made the homes
in all of us.

( Posted by: rmestre [Member] On: November 10, 2005 )

I read...
this poem...re-read the same. It is really great work from a great poet, whom we all miss.

This poem has made me to compose another poem on death called 'My Death', which i will be posting soon.

Bye,

GSVK

( Posted by: G.S.VASUKUMAR [Member] On: November 13, 2005 )

sacred place
Thanks penelope for this thread,,this is the least thing we could offer for claire....I am so glad to be here...i feel calm and peace ,unlike the other thread, it was a nightmare and war

im glad that Crowe decided to close the other thread when i asked for that...i dont know what reallly was goin on there,,,it was like a nightmare where a gang of bad and socks ppl came and signed up in lit just to black claire's name trying to plant hatred in our hearts,,,even i noticed that some members were influenced by their claims....but no matter what they said, claire was good and honest person with all whoever knew her close or far...
i hope i willl not see those guys here in ths thread.it is only for claire's lovers...we don want any negative comments here...please.
rest in peace, claire...i would leave a rose on ur grave..

hiba

( Posted by: fairgrace [Member] On: November 14, 2005 )

Epitaph
Before my poem, a few comments:
First, I have just returned from several weeks' absence travelling, and have not been near a computer since the weekend of Oct.29-30, so I have only now learned this shocking news about Claire's death.
Second, I feel very lucky not to have seen any distasteful or negative comments related to this, as alluded to in the comment before mine.
Third, I think we all need to stop and appreciate the rightness of the following: in her first "Exposed!", Claire Robinson interviewed Penelope Allen. It is now Penelope Allen who starts a poetry thread to honour Claire. This is good, and it feels right. In addition, it feels right to see Penelope Allen's perennial tiger avatar replaced by the photo that appears in Claire's "Album".
Fourth, I feel raw inside, but Claire will forgive the primitive aspect of this poem.

Epitaph

Something ascends
blazing
music through
hearts in attendance

Eternity cannot implode
is beholden
to science
law
order
yet I scrape my soul
on this
bleed

A petal floats on cosmic
whisper
fallen
grazes us
attentive
we loved
her like St Exupery's Prince
loved his rose

gone to the Center
drawing now
from wells
of revealed Truth

I am left with periphery
her tenderness
reported childspeak
her niece
the "dama keen"
one stray memory

Lucie

( Posted by: windchime [Member] On: November 15, 2005 )

claire
No one tells me anything. Haven't been to this site for quite some time, and so was shocked to hear about claire. we often disagreed, but i certainly respected her pluck and dedication. i'm beginning to cry. I will miss her, and my only consolation is that so many others will as well.

jeffrey

( Posted by: mercer102 [Member] On: February 7, 2006 )

Texas Ain't So Big
The world is full of jackasses
Claire wasn't one of them
People with big heads and small hearts
Claire wasn't one of them
Those that talk and talk and don't say a thing
Claire wasn't one of them
People you'd never miss when they're gone
Claire wasn't one of them
Texas ain't so big - Claire was

( Posted by: cjmiller [Member] On: March 9, 2006 )

Add Your Comment

You Must be a member to post comments and ratings. If you are NOT already a member, signup now it only takes a few seconds!

All Fields are required

Login:
Password:

Related Sites:

Labortechnik MagnetrÃ¼hrer Kalorimeter
*MPAA
*Buy PSP
*Wills
*Electricity