by Rainer Maria Rilke
Translated by Joanna Macy
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
Book of Hours, I 2
https://onbeing.org/poetry/widening-circles/
This triptych was created and completed by Donimo earlier this year, and she and I worked together to produce it as metallic prints for display in her bedroom. In these last weeks she was looking more and more to the sky, and when she passed, her eyes were this same brilliant sky blue. I will never forget seeing my dear, fierce friend meet the sky.
“Eyes up, heart open” was an expression shared with Donimo by Althea, a social worker with VCH’s Assisted Dying Program. That’s what I saw as she transitioned out of this world.
Donimo said, of this work and Rilke’s words (falcon, storm, great song): “Over the years, I have come to learn and celebrate that I am all three.”