Anneliese Schultz

Afterlife

from water to water return, lungs fill and immersion is complete, the ride into pure salt water, return to the sea,

the umbilical cord – metaphysical – re-attaches, draws up and away and down and in, a pulse of cosmic blood

another incantation another incarnation

~Virginia Schultz

A Commendation

An elder from Wyoming once told me that in his language there is a word for when a grandparent knows in their heart and spirit that their descendants will be all right and they can pass on to the next chapter of their journey. Looking at the beautiful life of Grammy and now of us, her descendants, we can surely see that she has reached this sacred stage of life which is the natural culmination of our efforts and life on earth. In ancient times, descendants of a house would often quarrel over estates, sometimes even killing each other and often not living very long at all. In fact in Nassau, the duchy which Wiesbaden is in, this system of governance was happening until the year before Grammy was born. so with this in mind, I think it is clear to see what a triumph her life has been, as her daughters and grandchildren all love each other dearly and are each excelling in pursuits which have always been close to their hearts. So today and always, I celebrate this ultimate accomplishment of our maternal progenitor who carried the prayers of her ancestries through the most tumultuous periods of modern history, so that we may carry on in a wholly different world from the one in which little Adi Ickrath was born.

~Kala August Sidhu

SHE’S DANCING WITH DAD

My sister points out that he didn’t dance, butThis is, well, immaterial – You know what I mean: The shy grins upon meeting, months after she’d arrived in America, at a picnic in New Hampshire; The postcard at the bottom of his duffel bag as he serves in Trinidad, the one tucked into her dressing table mirror in St. Louis; Then, 6 years later, the last-minute letter that he would be stateside and coming into the St. Louis train station for one hour, and could she meet him?!

One hour?

The one hour that confirmed they were meant to be,

that began a wondrous correspondence of 200

wartime letters over less than a year;

that brought the engagement ring she hid week after week from her parents

(the one where the accompanying letter said, “I come with the ring.”)…

The one hour that lasted them through

long fearful months of battle and separation

all the way to joyous vows in summer;

that then became two lives entwined,

and then the girls,

so many moves but

always the loving centre…

The one hour that, worlds later, brought

one grandson,

one granddaughter,

giggling at the forest’s edge as they find

signs of fairies,

smooth dance floors for them,

leave them gifts of acorn and bright red berry…

From that one hour – still unfurling the inexplicable threads – three generations of writers, three generations of riders (not so much proper dancers) History flowing back and forward, and finally, a benediction: That we would all find so much love in 60 minutes, breathe this much life into the gift of every hour ~

Anneliese (Huggy) Schultz

Who Runs the Show When a Mum Dies?

Who signals the lead change?

Who quietly makes the half-halt?

Where is the mark and moment to back up?

How big is the circle?

When do you Half Pass?

When do you extend?

When do you collect?

When do you sit?

When do you post?

When do you apply leg?

When do you fall back or let go?

Which way to look?

When do you gallop on?

What is the course over the obstacles?

Which way do you go in the forest and fields?

When do you stop to graze, gaze or take a dip?

Am Ende

It is ours to know, To remember,

That-what remains,

when we leave, is

the long loose rein of love …

Virginia (Ginny) Schultz

Heartfelt thanks to Anneliese’s caregivers Susan Hoffman, Felicita Ortiz, Sheila Ryland, Veronica Mosqueda, Martha Banuelos, Cathi Young, and Danielle Garrett.

Here is Anneliese featured in a recent news story: