Death Poetica

Death Poetica

Behind barbed wire In the county jail Woman recites poetry; Declares she’ll die. Bodies young, old Form lines. Summoned to penance, Knowing they’ll die. Bodies in lines Words in lines Dust and grime Ash to ash Dust to dust A friar smudges symbol into brow after brow. The texture: touch, trust. We are blackened by…

Christiana N. Peterson: Getting Real about Death, Dying and Grief

Christiana N. Peterson: Getting Real about Death, Dying and Grief

Sister Julia Walsh and author Christiana N. Peterson contemplate death, our cultural fear and avoidance of it, and what it looks like to be in a healthy relationship with death. They also discuss grief, mysticism and the saints, the importance of death rituals, and whether rituals are for the dead or those in mourning