Here I am, needing to write another blog post instigated by death. Last week’s passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a huge loss, not only for Americans. not only for women, not only for those who believe in the rule of law, but for everyone, everywhere. When has there ever been such a worldwide outpouring of love and grief for a US Supreme Court Justice? A young, stubborn girl from Brooklyn grew up to change the world.

Much has already been written about her and her life. I can’t add anything of substance to those words. But what I can do is find my own words to reflect my own feelings and the lessons I hope to learn from her time on earth. And I can do that in a poem. Here is my poem for Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

Perseverance

                                                                     For RBG

The air feels like winter, whipping through the branches,

Making the leaves dance or shiver – it’s hard to tell which.

But the sun is clear, warm and present on the grass.

The stones in the dirt seem to glimmer and shine.

The sun draws me out – me, who hates the cold –

To stand in its beams. I can rise up against the wind

As long as I keep my knees slightly bent,

My face, now warm, turning forward.