Thursday, September 30, 2010

Regret Not Me, my new Portable Memorial Jewelry


Its been a year of losses for many around me and I have found myself making jewelry as a kind of portable memorial for those who grieve, and also as a symbol that there is hope for the future even in the darkest of times.

The top image is of my Regret Not Me earrings just added to etsy, these were inspired by the Thomas Hardy poem of that name, in this poem, Hardy speaks of slumbering peacefully beneath a tree. These earrings are black as the pain of grief, but the etched bead is like a nut or seed for new life and the leaf is also symbolic of the life cycle. Although I could only use an excerpt of the poem in my listing, here is the poem in its entirity, from my beloved book "Poems of Thomas Hardy, selected and introduced by Claire Tomalin" (Penguin Classics 2006)
Regret Not Me:
Regret not me
Beneath the sunny tree
I lie uncaring, slumbering peacefully.
Swift as the light
I flew my faery flight
Ecstatically I moved, and feared no night.
I did not know
That heydays fade and go
But deemed that what was would be always so.
I skipped at morn
Between the yellowing corn
Thinking it good and glorious to be born.
I ran at eves
Among the piled up sheaves
Dreaming, "I grieve not, therefore nothing grieves".
Now soon will come
The apple, pear and plum
And hinds will sing, and autumn insects hum.
Again you will fare
To cider-makings rare
and junketings; but I shall not be there.
Yet gaily sing
Until the pewter ring
Those songs we sang when we went gipsying.
And lightly dance
Some triple-timed romance
In coupled figures, and forget mischance.
And mourn not me
Beneath the yellowing tree
For I shall mind not, slumbering peacefully.
(Thomas Hardy)



I also have these czech cross earrings in black and gold, this pair on a chain, a second pair hangs simply from their earwires, in brass findings.

My heart goes out to all who have lost near and dear ones, may you find some hope and comfort in your lives.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Starry,
A great idea, and beautiful jewelry.
I love the poem. Unfortunately I also have had a bad year for losing ones that we love, it is always nice to have some sort of a remembrance.

Starry said...

Thank you Mags, and I'm sorry to hear you have also had such a year, but I hope we can all grow stronger together and find positive ways to honour those who have gone on from here.

Cheryl said...

Starry my dear friend I love your ideas and symbolic jewelry. Grieving is a journey that, in the end, we make alone. It is the strength we gain from others that provides fuel for the journey.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Love and friendship Chez xo

Starry said...

Chez, I am so lucky to witness your journey. You really have come a long way just in the time I've known you. And I'm glad to share my own journey with you, not many know what I have been through but you have seen beyond the exterior.