August 6: Toni Morrison, Unsinkable. "It Comes Unadorned"

The great Toni Morrison died today.  

That news sort of took my breath away this morning.  For me, it was like hearing about the sinking of a great ship that seemed unsinkable.  She has been a part of life since I first read Beloved when I was an undergrad.  And I can't imagine a world without her voice in it.

Saint Marty is going to give the last words of this post to President Barack Obama:

Toni Morrison was a national treasure, as good a storyteller, as captivating, in person as she was on the page.  Her writing was a beautiful, meaningful challenge to our conscience and our moral imagination.  What a gift to breathe the same air as her, if only for a while.

It Comes Unadorned

by:  Toni Morrison

It comes
Unadorned
Like a phrase
Strong enough to cast a spell;
It comes
Unbidden,
Like the turn of sun through hills
Or stars in wheels of song.
The jeweled feet of women dance the earth.
Arousing it to spring.
Shoulders broad as a road bend to share the weight of years.
Profiles breach the distance and lean
Toward an ordinary kiss.
Bliss.
It comes naked into the world like a charm.