Sherry has passed away

[lizzytysh]

Thanks, Jarkko.

I'd been looking for the photo for awhile when I recalled that it was a photo that I took of her using her own camera. It's still so vivid in my mind, though, that it seemed like it was taken by me. I was thinking I had asked her for a copy and gotten it, yet I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

So, in my condolences to her daughter [and husband], I've asked Mariana about it, as Sherry had told me that when Mariana saw it, she teased Sherry about it. If I can one way or another locate it, I'll send it on to you for posting. It just happened to show a joyful side of Sherry that these other photos just don't capture, but a side that I happened to see a lot with her on Hydra.

She was having pain of undetermined sources, which later brought some misdiagnoses, even when we were together. Still, I believed she was improving such that she would prevail.


Love,
Lizzy

Here is the last poem that Sherry posted from the Member's Poetry section. Her last posting on the Forum was one of condolences to Andrew McGeever, regarding the loss of his mother.

So Much More To …

by Sherry on Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:48 pm

I'm sorry I've been away from the Forum and this section in particular for such a long time.
In fact, I may have been away so long that there are many new people here. If so, I will be
happy to meet them and say hello as well to those with whom I have not communicated for awhile.


So Much More To …

I have so much more to learn
languages to perfect
music to listen to, dance to, play;
recipes to read, tastes to try
new dishes to offer loved ones
known or not yet met

my future still holds infinite
numbers of hugs, kisses, smiles, caresses
and other gestures that shall remain
as unnamed as they are intimate

grandchildren waiting to be born
who need my take on the world
lest they wish to pass it on
to the next generation

things to say that have been left
unsaid so long that the air may strain
from wonder when the hibernating
words finally emerge

So many places still unexplored;

I will see a Caribbean Island with
my own eyes; feel the sun on my
healing body as I laze in the protective
shadow of a lush palm tree
sipping the elixir of life and laughing
with satisfaction as I watch my loved ones
bathe once more in salted surf

I did not give license to the treacherous
invaders attempting to take over my body
I will, however, not be taken prisoner
willingly nor easily; I’ve never been easy
I know where my ground is and
I know how to stand it.

Sherry L. Smith
February, 2008

[Joe Way]

I know where my ground is and
I know how to stand it.

Thanks, Lizzy for posting this poem. I don't often go to the poetry forum as it becomes too overwhelming for me. This poem resonated deeply and I wish I had read it earlier.

I've been searching through my Hydra memories and I don't think that Sherry & I met, but I can't be sure. No matter, her family is in our thoughts and prayers now. Anne and my own deep condolences are extended to them.

Joe

[lizzytysh]

Hi Joe ~

You're welcome and thanks for your condolences. I'm sure her family will appreciate your lovely message. With your being on Hydra for only the first Event, and the informal meet-up in 2007 being Sherry's first time ever on the island, you wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet her there. She attended the Berlin Event, though; however, with 250 people there, it was unlikely. She hung out mostly with a gentleman from another country, which I can't recall at the moment. She introduced herself to me at the church, as we had talked previously on the Forum... and maybe in some PMs, as well. She was a lovely woman.


~ Lizzy

[liverpoolken]

I too have just caught up with this very sad news.

I remember Sherry from Berlin but my main memory is of our time we spent together on the monastery trip on Hydra last year.
After the hike up the mountain Sherry felt whacked out so I offered to stay behind with her to give herself time to face up to the trek back down while the rest of the party headed back down.

We sat alone for an hour or so on a terrace looking down into the valley watching a bird of prey hovering over it's next victim. I remember Sherry desperately wanting a photo of the bird, so we both took out our cameras and took a few photos. Unfortunately my efforts only produced a blur where the bird should have been. I never got to know if Sherry fared any better. I hope she did.

On the slow walk back down the mountain Sherry told me all about her family, her work in Geneva and life back home in Canada. She impressed me as being a very thoughtful and gentle person with an exceptionally warm and loving nature.

As anybody knows who as attended any of our meet-ups, either official or unofficial, it can sometimes be the one to one encounters that stay in the mind longer, and on that sunny mountain last year on Hydra this was such an encounter.

Rest in peace Sherry.

Ta Ken

[Gypsy_Wife]

I don't think I ever had the opportunity to meet Sherry, but I always find it sad when one of our troupe leaves us. I too would like to send my condolences to her family, a mother's passing rips through your heart like barbed wire pulled thruogh your hands. Her poem is beautiful and elegant, how kind of her to share a piece of herself with us in this way.

[jimbo]

So many places still unexplored;

I will see a Caribbean Island with
my own eyes; feel the sun on my
healing body as I laze in the protective
shadow of a lush palm tree
sipping the elixir of life and laughing
with satisfaction as I watch my loved ones
bathe once more in salted surf

this is beautiful. Ithink it is her vision of heaven
having finaly excepted that death was near

R.I.P Sherry

[lizzytysh]

A trip was planned, but you may well be right on another level, Jimbo.

Thank you for describing Sherry's poem perfectly, Gypsy_Wife. Beautiful and elegant, and a very precious and lasting gift for us, a piece of her innermost self.

Thank you, Ken, for sharing in such heartfelt words some of your specifics of your experience with the Sherry that we both had the pleasure of coming to know. I remember her and I joining you for morning coffee at the outdoor table near our hotel. I'll also never forget her insistence that she come with me to take a series of photos as a favour to someone, when it meant uphill, walking time, and time away from others doing 'holiday' things. I tried to release her from any feelings of responsibility that she might have because she was my roommate, but she seemed to really mean it that she wanted to come with me.

As it turned out, we had a wonderful time, with lots of laughter and sharing, and her intuition [she had an unmistakable gift in this area, which I witnessed more than once... both in person and online communications... and she shared other instances of it] got us the correct direction[s] to the house of the woman where I stayed the summer before... and I was the one who had been there . We also enjoyed seeing Leonard's house together, just the two of us, and taking photos of each other there. She stayed with me without impatience to pet the pitiful-condition cats in the tucked-away square, where Takis feeds them. She shared my same feelings about animals.


Love,
Lizzy

[lizzytysh]

As so few here got the chance to know her, I'd like to say a few more things about Sherry. In her quiet, self-composed, and soft-spoken way, she had an aristocratic air about her that reminded me of what we refer to here as "old money" [where fortunes have been in the family for generations; and those with it don't flaunt it and know how to treat others well] vs. "new money" [people who come into fortunes suddenly, don't know how to handle it, and tend to be flashy and rude]. I hope people don't mind if I share these thoughts and perspectives. Berlin was the first Cohen event of any kind that Sherry ever attended and, was her way, she moved about quietly, yet with a great laugh. Many never got the opportunity to meet or know her, and now never will, so I want to at least share some of my own memories, as I'm so glad that Ken did.

She was articulate and spoke deliberately, with very good diction, enunciation, and voice modulation. Her humour was subtle and her thoughts well-expressed, with interesting levels of exploration. I remember on the fast boat, as we returned to Piraeus after Hydra; and her going through her photos of her travels in Greece [before we had met up in Athens to go on to Hydra] and explaining each in detail. I was astonished by how many of the details surrounding each photo and all of its historical significance she remembered with ease. She loved history and was enraptured by that of Greece.

You could both see and hear Sherry's quality in the details of how she presented herself and who she was... a dear friend, and a loving and devoted wife and mother. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know her. She was one of those with whom that didn't happen immediately. I wish more had gotten the chance. I'm glad that she was able to see Anjani, whom she loved, and very sorry that she was never able to see Leonard, whom she dearly loved. I looked forward to spending time with her, again. I will miss Sherry very much. I hope I can locate the photo, to share the joyful side of her which I saw so often. Amongst many other things, we laughed a lot about the 'resident' cat at our hotel who staunchly refused to leave the room until we fed her... yet, depending on her mood, would still nip the hand that fed her.


Love,
Lizzy

[lazariuk]

When thinking of what she would have written on her tombstone she wrote the following

My Question

This day has dawned like any other
But should it be my last
One question must I put to you
Before the day has passed
Shall we meet again, my love?
Shall we meet again?

Many years have come and gone
Since our paths first crossed
The highs we had were glorious
The lows were filled with loss
Shall we greet again, my love?
Shall we greet again?

Your smile lit the way for me
My heart held you firm
Your eyes belied the words you spoke
My face betrayed concern
Shall we speak again, my love?
Shall we speak again?

Our children brought us happiness
They grew beautiful and strong
We watched them stride into the world
We helped them to belong
Shall we love again, my dear?
Shall we love again?

Eternal night has fallen now
And whither goeth I
If and when you follow me
I beg you do not lie
Shall we meet again, my love?
Shall we meet again?

Sherry

We'll be seeing you forever

[Paula]

Did Sherry write that Jack? It is beautiful.

[lazariuk]

Did Sherry write that Jack? It is beautiful.

Yes in the poetry section under the title "My Question"

She also once gave a very beautiful account of how Leonard's music came into her life and what it meant to her. It ended with the words

As I mentioned, his music, then his poetry, then his books all combined to change my life profoundly. I started to write poetry again after many years of not writing. Then I started to play my guitar again - also after many years of not playing. I started reading other people’s poetry, then more serious books on literary criticism, then eventually enroled in Master’s program in cultural studies. Somewhere along the way I lost my depression and became a whole person again. I owe it all to Leonard.

He touched my perfect body with his mind. And that’s all I have to say on the subject.

[lizzytysh]

Thank you so much for bringing those here, Jack. Sherry deserves this attention.


~ Lizzy

[Paula]

She was a very good poet. Has her daughter seen them I know if my mum had written like that I would be very proud

[lizzytysh]

I'm not sure, Paula. I know they were very close, so it wouldn't surprize me if she had shared them with her. When I hear back from her, which I not surprisingly haven't yet, and respond to her, I'll be sure to copy and paste them all to her. She didn't post many of her poems here, but those she did all had a very special quality about them. I'd rather know that her daughter has seen them than just trust that she has. Thanks for the reminder. I would feel the same as you've said.

You're right, Jack, that's a very beautiful description of Leonard's impact on Sherry's life. I remember it now. Later, I'll go back and read through all of her postings, PMs, and emails.


Love,
Lizzie

[tomsakic]

I can't believe. I clearly remember how I talked with Sherry in the harbour of Hydra, under that light, in front of the small hotel, about my studies and about Cultural Studies and her collection of books and humanities in general. I will always remember that moment, when you suddenly discover someone to whom you can talk about things you both do for living. Later she emailed me some invitations for conferences in Eastern Europe but it appeared I have to speak fluent Russian (what I can't). I am shocked; I was sure I'll meet her again on Hydra or next event. I was looking forward to speak with her. I think that the messages above, from other who knew her from Hydra or Berlin, tells much, as does the poem. I can't say anything more, I can't believe she's gone.