Tuesday, September 11, 2007

fare thee well

It is, after all, an acceptable time.

One of the zeester's and my favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle has passed away at 88. The series of books about the Murry children (frail Charles Wallace, the twins, bookish but underachieving Meg who ends up with the cute, troubled jock Calvin) had us hooked since "it was a dark and stormy night" and Mrs Whatsit burst into their lives. Initiating us into the mysteries of the tesseract as well as the nephilim (in the biblical-themed Many Waters), Ms L'Engle piqued my curiosity and helped unleash imagination.

Ms L'Engle reportedly resented being called a children's author, and deservedly so. Her stories, although about children and written in simple prose, are deep, and far-reaching into Christian and mythological themes. Although JK Rowling and Harry Potter will always be close to my heart for the total entertainment and escapist value, Madeleine L'Engle's books will always be part of my soul.

In this fateful hour
I call on all heaven with its power
And the sun with its brightness,
And the snow with its whiteness,
And the fire with all the strength it hath,
And the lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the sea with its deepness,
And the rocks with their steepness,
And the earth with its starkness,
All these I place
By God’s Almight help and grace
Between myself and the powers of darkness

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