Remembering Their Gifts

The memory of the righteous is a blessing. – Proverbs 10:7a (NRSV) 

Poet Andrea Gibson died a little over two months ago from the cancer they lived with, loved through, and wrote on for the past three years. If you haven’t read Andrea’s poetry, do a web search for their name, or – better yet – immediately dive into one of their books of poetry, starting with You Better Be Lightning. 

For years I loved Andrea’s poetry the way most people love poetry: quietly and privately. It wasn’t until their death that I realized how huge their fandom was, and how deeply we all felt about their writing. The love for their work continued to spread postmortem as all the closeted poetry lovers posted their favorite poems and clips from Andrea’s spoken word performances. A collective yearning for the themes they wrote on emerged: gratitude in the face of death and wonder in the midst of pain. 

Other people have better written about the ongoing gift of Andrea’s words, but what I am amazed by is something that Andrea could not anticipate: this may be one of the first times in the United States that a trans person was honored after their death not because of how they died but because of how they lived. Too often if we publicly eulogize a trans person after their death, it is because of the hate crime that was committed against them.  

This, too, is a gift Andrea leaves for all of us. They committed to dying so well that their humanity could not be ignored. I imagine that, just as Andrea would be delighted that so many people are giving poetry another chance, they would be thrilled that they were the part of the pivot to our culture embracing the beautiful legacy and lives of trans folks. May it be so. 

Prayer
For all the saints, who from their labors rest, Alleluia.

About the Author
Ellis Miller serves as the Designated Pastor of Granby Congregational Church, UCC and is the author of Only Work Sundays: A Laidback Guide to Doing Less while Helping Your Church Thrive.