In Memoriam
Today, March 6th, is the birthday of an internet friend I'd lost contact with in the last couple of years, so I decided to try to get in touch with him. What I located instead was his obituary
Rodney L. Armstrong, March 6, 1965 -- December 22, 2005
Rod was a good friend during and following the years we worked together on the poetry board he created, Gandy Creek. He was also a fine poet himself, as this poem (originally published in Avatar Review 3) shows:
"Particles"
Night after the fish kill
particles are scarce,
there's little to cling
between dense stars.
A southern wind insists,
the waves of willow lake
slap their thousands
at our feet. They twitch
dead reeds along the bank.
Jug mouths offer nothing
but baritones.
Across the lake, moonlight
falls like scales
from dead fish, each flake
a gasp of particles
in the darkness.
In turning to go we see
we leave no footprints.
We cling to keep
from being
scattered by the wind.
-- Rod Armstrong
Rodney L. Armstrong, March 6, 1965 -- December 22, 2005
Rod was a good friend during and following the years we worked together on the poetry board he created, Gandy Creek. He was also a fine poet himself, as this poem (originally published in Avatar Review 3) shows:
"Particles"
Night after the fish kill
particles are scarce,
there's little to cling
between dense stars.
A southern wind insists,
the waves of willow lake
slap their thousands
at our feet. They twitch
dead reeds along the bank.
Jug mouths offer nothing
but baritones.
Across the lake, moonlight
falls like scales
from dead fish, each flake
a gasp of particles
in the darkness.
In turning to go we see
we leave no footprints.
We cling to keep
from being
scattered by the wind.
-- Rod Armstrong
posted by Hedgie at 8:31 PM
4 Comments:
I had no idea. How sad.
Ignorance really was bliss.
A loss to poetry. It feels strange to feel the loss so long after the event, but I suppose that there is no dulling the loss whether you learn it the day after or a decade after the event. And don't forget Blueline which was where paths first crossed.
noi
I came to the board much later than many but Rod, like Ron Jones, was very kind to me as a newbie. I went to Gandy Greek today to read your post. Time flies by so quickly. I wondered, while there, how long it has been since I did the art at the bottom of the page. I remember working on that outhouse. : ) Rest in Peace, Rod. Tell Bro hello when you see him.
Pat
Thanks, everyone. I'm sure Rod would appreciate your taking the time to stop by and leave your words.
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