A Most Beautiful Thing

Sorry for the infrequent posts. We are chilling in Provincetown, which means one of my major activities is reading Provincetown Arts magazine cover to cover. This issue features diverse tributes to the poet Marie Howe, whose celebrated book "What the Living Do" explores the death of her brother John from AIDS. In his tribute, the writer Richard McCann recalled what another friend of his, Tillie Olsen, once told him about death and grieving. When I read his words I thought it was one of the most beautiful things ever. McCann writes that "not long after her husband, Jack, had died, Tillie told me, "All this talk about grieving -- but when Jack was dying, I felt like I was falling in love with him all over again."