Elizabeth Barrette

She Walks in Light and Darkness

— an elegy for Sally Ride, 1951-2012

She walks in starlight,
spaceclad now with no need of a suit.

She walks in moonlight,
spirit-feet bare in the floury surface of the craters.

She walks in sunlight,
ribbons of infrared and ultraviolet woven into her hair.

She walks in darkness,
touring the far side of the moon and the spots of the sun.

She walks in spirit where she walked in thought,
and behind her the daughters of tomorrow lift their eyes to the sky.

 

(Editor’s Note: Dr. Sally Ride, the first U. S. woman in space, died on July 23, 2012. Elizabeth wrote a moving elegiac poem. Reprinted with permission; originally posted in The Wordsmith’s Forge, http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/2423717.html)

Elizabeth Barrette has over 380 poems published in over 120 markets. Her publication credits include “After Dark” in AVENues, “How Skycat Got Her Name” in Torn World, and the book Prismatica: Science Fiction Poems Spanning the Spectrum. Her poems “The Cathedral of the Michaelangelines” and “The Shipwright's Song” have been nominated for the Rhysling Award in speculative poetry this year (2012). She has also taught poetry workshops in several venues. She hosts the monthly Poetry Fishbowls in her blog The Wordsmith’s Forge at: http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com


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Posted in Issue 15, Poetry

Published by Silver Blade on 16 September 2012

One Comment

  1. Introduction to Silver Blade Poetry Issue 15 | Silver Blade Magazine says:
    September 17, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    [...] Elizabeth Barrette (Charleston, IL) Candleflight; She Walks in Light and Darkness [...]

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