New to this site? > Remembrances

In Memory of FairAnna

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BarbStAubrey:
Two poems our fairanna sent to me when I needed them the most - since the lump does not leave my throat I must need them again and maybe you need them as well.

A Question for you
 
When Autumn comes shall I gather  
Her jewels fallen to the ground?
Pack each one in a box and send them
Off to you? What will you think  
When you open and find them there?
Topaz from the tulip tree, garnet and ruby  
Sparkling in the sun. Waiting to be gathered  
Before they dry and blow away.
Will you remember me as I remember you?
Your address I no longer know,
Where did you go when we said goodbye?
How can I reach you? What number can I call
When summer says goodbye and I say hello to fall?
 
anna alexander
August 5, 2003

New Beginnings

Somewhere between yesterday and tomorrow
Lies a door, closed tight and latched.
It hinges rusting, holes patched.
The doorknob gone, the keyhole plugged
No light shines there, the lamp is out.
Standing in the vestibule of today's doubt
I peer through the dimly dark ,
See another door , hear a steady din
Voices whisper, softly shout , invite me in!
Looking one last time, a final backward glance
At the old door, the portal to my past
Hesitant I pause , throw the dice, cast
My lot. Place my hand against tomorrow's gate
My journey still ahead,my life incomplete
Reborn, a Phoenix rising from the blackened heap
Of ashes buried deep. Lifting my head, I face
The dawning day, the starting place.
Impatient now to see the morning star
Raise my voice in joyous singings
Embrace the land of new beginnings.

anna alexander 12/18/96

JoanK:
My friendship with Anna meant so much to me -- her loss leaves a big hole in my heart.

She would call me, late at night in Virginia, knowing it was evening in California, and we would talk for hours about anything and everything. Then she would say "I'm going to hang up now". Fiftenn minutes later, while still talking, she would say "Didn't I say I was going to hang up?" "Yes, but I didn't believe you!" I would reply. No matter how many times we did this, it would break both of us up."


And the cookies!! She knew I LOVED her ccookies (who doesn't?), especially her shortbread. She would say "I'm going to bake you some cookies", and my mouth would start to water. A few days later "I baked you some cookies, I'm going to send them to you but I'm waiting for ....." "Don't wait" I'd say -- I knew what was going to happen. But to no avail. A few days later "So-and-so was over and ate some of your cookies. But there are plenty left". By this time, I knew I was doomed. Later "I couldn't not give some to such-and-such, but I'll bake you another batch". "OK", I bravely said. When you have a friend who loves so many people, you know you have to wait your turn.

But when they did arrive,  aaaahhh.

And her poems, she'd share liberally. "Want to hear what I wrote today?" "Yes, yes" I'd say. I love her poems. I hope there is some way they can be published.

We never met face to face. We tried, when she was in California, but couldn't swing it. Once I suggested that we both get "Skype" and have a video phone call. "Oh" she said, "then I'd have to put on my makeup, do my hair, dress up ---" as if I would have cared. Her smile was more important to me than any thing makeup could do.

"My family used to say "I know you've been talking to Anna. You're yelling!" Sometimes, she could hear me fine, sometimes it was hard. but no matter how bad her hearing was that day, when I said "I love you", she always understood me. I can't tell you what her phone calls meant to me, moving 3000 miles away from all my friends. I knew that friendship was stronger than distance.

kiwilady:
Its very sad for me to come in here today and read that Anna is gone. She was a clever and lovely lady. She will be missed. So many bookies gone.

Rest In peace Anna.

Carolyn

ginny:
I am so sorry to hear of Anna's passing. She was an extraordinary person in many ways and how she absolutely loved her children and grandchildren!!  All of her conversations to me  centered on her family. I think she was the one who got us started on the idea of cooking at our Books at the  Beach trip and everybody then pitched in, which made it truly a trip to remember.  

A plaque over one of the bookcases in the beach house  said "Memories," and that's what we're all feeling today. I am finding her close in her own poetry, what a wonderful way to remember her.

Barbara has put some of her poems here and also in the Poetry section and  I have found them to be extremely evocative, here's another one:


DUST   MOTES  

captured by a random ray of light  
trickling through a torn and shattered shade  
a corps de ballet of dust motes  
gracefully took flight
they floated in the bright beam  
dressed in tiny twinkling gowns  
their pirouettes their leaps  
defying gravity it would seem  
alas the sun removed its golden ray  
abandoned them to a dim drab grey  
impoverished them along with me  
left us  
 h
 a
 n
 g
 i
 n
  g  
on a dreary day

anna alexander  Oct 14,2000 all rights reserved

That's a lovely thing, so like her in her ability to appreciate the smallest elements,   and isn't it wonderful to hear once more her voice through poetry? We will truly miss Anna who brightened all our lives. My condolences to her family in their great loss.

JoanP:
Anna and SeniorLearn go way back to SeniorNet days.  She came one of the early gathering s at the National Book Festival in Washington DC in 2000.  -  No one there will ever forget  her excitement at meeting her online friends for the first time.  She kept sayng  she couldn't get over her luck at finding us.  Her joy was contagious.  She brought that joi de vivre into all of her posts - and as you can see - in her poetry.

It's hard to say goodbye.  .  A few months ago when Anna received the news of her declining health, the SeniorLearn DLs sent her some orchids, which she has always loved, used to raise.  Here is part of her note that she sent - hopefully her words will bring some comfort to you as they did for  us.  

 " I never know how to end something ..I won't say goodbye because that would mean I would never see you or hear from you and you will always be in my thoughts  AND I BELIEVE I WILL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN. GOD BLESS AND KNOW YOU ARE SPECIAL....EVER, Anna"

Anna, we won't say goodbye either - we believe we will see you again - You will always be with us here.

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