borrowed words.

June 11, 2018

The last of these neighborhood roses and these words:

“Here is the medicine:

That though the heart is breaking, happiness can exist in a moment, also. And because the moment in which we live is all the time there really is, we can keep going. It may be true, and often is, that every person we hold dear is taken from us. Still. From moment to moment, we watch our beans and our watermelons grow. We plant. We hoe. We harvest. We share with neighbors. If a young anthropologist appears with two hams and gives us one, we look forward to enjoying it.

Life, inexhaustible, goes on. And we do too. Carrying our wounds and our medicines as we go.”

From Alice Walker’s introduction to Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo.

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13 Comments

  • Reply Kikik June 11, 2018 at 10:17 am

    Thx for sharing!

  • Reply Liv June 11, 2018 at 10:30 am

    Ohhhhh- this is painful, it’s so good. Thank you.

  • Reply Roxanne June 11, 2018 at 11:13 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this, Erin. It was like I needed this and didn’t even know it. XO

  • Reply Celine June 11, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    How beautiful is that! Thank you for sharing. I’m really looking forward to reading that book. Heard the story about it on NPR – how fascinating.

  • Reply Robin June 11, 2018 at 8:07 pm

    Oh, this resonates so deeply for me this week. Teaching a summer institute for peacebuilding. This is my people, and my students too. I will read this in class.

    Thank you for sharing. Ekosani.

  • Reply Mickey June 12, 2018 at 9:43 am

    Beautiful words, chosen at the right time. But then again, it’s always the right time to believe in hope.

  • Reply Elise June 12, 2018 at 12:29 pm

    I echo Mickey: perfect words, at the perfect time. Thank you so much for sharing!

  • Reply Ramona June 12, 2018 at 4:24 pm

    I live this daily. I feel this deeply. We lost our 32 year old daughter nearly four years ago. Still hurts so much. But we have our faith, our son and grandchildren and each other. And we still do experience joy. She would want us to do that. She sends us beautiful reminders all the time and for this we are grateful.

    • Reply ERIN BOYLE June 12, 2018 at 4:28 pm

      Sending much love your way.

  • Reply Melissa June 12, 2018 at 11:18 pm

    This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

  • Reply Ester June 13, 2018 at 11:32 am

    I needed this.

  • Reply Claire June 14, 2018 at 7:28 am

    Such a beautiful perspective on grief and hope. Resonates deeply as I lost my beautiful sister three weeks ago. These words will stay with me, thanks for sharing them.

  • Reply Mo January 27, 2019 at 7:39 am

    Thank you for those borrowed word Erin!

    My stepmother is dying from cancer (she’s one step from palliative care, but all treatment is withheld as she’s too week to handle them) and this was a comforting and emotional read. We carry our medicine with us.

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