<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="text-align: left;padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><font>elegy for the red-breasted bird, rev 1</font></div><div style="text-align: left;padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br></div><div style="text-align: left;padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">for Robin</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">red-breasted bird</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">crimson song as wide as his heart</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">gifts of joy flying off every feather</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">bringer of light and promise</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">that dark and cold are not forever</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">to exorcise his pain</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">he has taken his all from us</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">to end the despair</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">he has bled his wounds to silence</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">hearing again the mourning-shrouded message</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">that something was at its end</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">its time was up</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">he thought it meant his life entire</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">all too common a mistake</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">the hand of death abides</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">holds the hand of life itself</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">they walk together yin and yang through all our days</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">our battles our celebrations our silent hours</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">we who tire of the unwelcome darkness</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">we who cannot imagine</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">coming through the next endless night</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">we who hear the roaring siren call of surcease</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">and lie in the shadows of forgetting</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">are easy prey for the lurking error</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">the knife is always at the ready</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">it can kill or it can pare</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">behold how often do we prune the vine so it will flower</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">dead-head the rose to urge its blossom</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">run one more lap to tone the tired muscle</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">it is too late for him </div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">red-breast will not serenade again</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">but the call to die will rise in us again</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">the call to death is real its urgency intense</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">demanding response it will not disappear </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">but let us listen again</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">it is a gift a priceless tune</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">and we must remember how to hear it</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">we must harken we must seek</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">we must embark on the dark treasure hunt</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">until the hidden culprit is known</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">until what must be heard behind the siren-song is heard</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">until what has become burden is left behind</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">until that which is at its end is allowed to die</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">until what keeps us fettered is released</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "> </p><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">so that all that can still live and laugh and love in us</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; ">does remain</div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><br></div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Vilma Olsvary Ginzberg </div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>© </div><div style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "> </p></body></html>