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  #1  
Unread 06-20-2018, 07:32 PM
Robert Pecotte's Avatar
Robert Pecotte Robert Pecotte is offline
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Default Tim Murphy latest

I just wanted to alert everyone to a post I made on Prayers for Tim. I was with him today and he loves all of you and is grateful for your friendship throughout all of these years and for your well wishes and prayers in this his final travail this side of the veil.

Here is the post:
all of
To all members of the Sphere,

I just got back to my parish from Tim's home in Fargo. He is very weak, but in good spirits. He is trying to take as little pain medication as he can so that he can remain lucid. He had a good day yesterday with lots of visitors and so today he was very tired. I prayed with him and administered the Rite of Extreme Unction.

I must admit, that I am in tears. We remembered together that grace filled day when he walked into Sts. Anne & Joachim, which proved to be a life changing event for both of us. Tim said it was a 'moment of grace' a truth with which I could not agree more heartily.

I spent about an hour with him talking about the old days, hunting, farming, poetry, God and His Grace, but he needed to rest and was overly taxing himself to stay alert, so I blessed him and left so he could get some rest.

He wanted me to tell all of you how grateful he is for your encouragement and friendship these many years. Listening to the audio of this thread, which Catherine most graciously recorded, filled him with profound joy. He loves all of you and thanks you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers, and especially for accompanying him in his love of poetry and through his travails.

He gave me a glimpse of the humor that belongs uniquely to Tim Murphy, before I left he said to me; "I have had a glorious past three years of...smoking and prayer." It made me, and his brother Jim laugh, and Tim smiled. And then I teared up, as I am now.

I plan on going back to Fargo to see him on Friday, so if you would like to send a greeting and a prayer or poem to him, I would be happy to print them off and read them to him then. I will leave around 9:00am Friday, so have them posted before then.

May God Bless all of you,

Fr. Rob

PS: I asked him if he was ready for death, and he immediately said yes. He is in a good place in his soul. I'm just not sure that I am ready for his death. I wish I could have taken more advantage of the time I had knowing him, but distance and ministry kept it from being so. I will always owe Tim a debt of gratitude for his inspiration and forthright honesty when it came to my doggerel and on the rare occasion when I managed, mostly with his help the help of many of you, to write something worth writing.

Last edited by Robert Pecotte; 06-20-2018 at 07:59 PM.
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Unread 06-20-2018, 07:39 PM
E. Shaun Russell E. Shaun Russell is offline
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Thank you for this, Father Robert.


For what I think should be obvious reasons, I'm making this and the other thread "sticky" so that they remain at the top of the page for the time being.


With respect to a few other consistent presences, I don't think anyone has had the indelible impact on the 'Sphere that Tim has, and I hope everyone who can pay their respects on these threads does.
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  #3  
Unread 06-20-2018, 07:55 PM
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Robert Pecotte Robert Pecotte is offline
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Thank You Shaun! Indeed, Tim made a great impact in the poetic realm and in my life, like a crater formed from the largest of meteors, and yet he brought life (except to his favorite winged fowl!), not death, with his impact.

Death may have him in his vile hand, but the Lord of Life holds him in His thoughts, so that he, Tim Murphy, can slip from that boney grip, and find in God what he has always sought: everlasting Peace for him who counted himself amongst least. Amen
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Unread 06-20-2018, 08:35 PM
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Robert Pecotte Robert Pecotte is offline
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To all who wish to send a poem to Tim, please post them hear. I would be blessed to read them to him. And please, compose one for him, as they will mean the most. And don't worry about their composition, he no longer cares if they are perfect as he cares far more for you than the perfection of your verse.
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Unread 06-20-2018, 08:39 PM
E. Shaun Russell E. Shaun Russell is offline
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I was hesitant to post this publicly, but Robert suggested I do so.

There are few words to express how Tim's loss will be felt, but these are the best I can muster.




Elegy for a Hunter

A routine interrupted
by unconvincing stillness

A door that should be open
has yet to budge an inch

A bird that should be fearful
has cheekily come calling

And nothing’s as it should be
as all is as it is:

A dog looks for his master
but his master has gone home.
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Unread 06-20-2018, 08:50 PM
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Robert Pecotte Robert Pecotte is offline
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This is from poem I wrote after my mother's death. I never posted it, but it is fitting for Tim too, it's a western Tanka. I have substantially edited for Tim, so this is the first poem that I have composed in three years:

a robin’s song
floating through the leaves,
the northern breeze...
still the red one wings
away to warmer climes

Three years ago or so, the Sphere had a Tanka event and I garnered the chosen Tanka, and Tim was the first to congratulate me. It was a triumph for me, and also for Him. He had lent me his credibility, when I was not worthy of it, and so for me to have achieved this minimal acclaim was a sort of vindication for him, and for me. However, my mother died on the same day and I have not written since, except to compose a brief Tanka for her (with the help of Michael Juster and David Anthony) a year later. What I posted above is an edit (a big one) of what I wrote for my mother.

Last edited by Robert Pecotte; 06-22-2018 at 08:16 AM.
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Unread 06-20-2018, 09:25 PM
Cally Conan-Davies Cally Conan-Davies is offline
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For Tim, who introduced me to the phrase "waiting in the weeds" . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3UEIIonYew

To waiting in the weeds, Tim! Cheers!!

love always,

Chrissy XOXOX

The lyrics . . .

It's comin' on the end of August
Another summer's promise almost gone
And though I heard some wise man say
That every dog will have his day
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long

I don't know when I realized the dream was over
Well, there was no particular hour, no given day
You know, it didn't go down in flame
There was no final scene, no frozen frame
I just watched it slowly fade away

And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for my time to come around again and
Hope is floating on the breeze
Carrying my soul high up above the ground and
I've been keepin' to myself
Knowin' that the seasons are slowly changing
Even though you're with somebody else
He'll never love you like I do

I've been biding time with the crows and sparrows
While peacocks prance and strut upon the stage
If finding love is just a dance
Proximity and chance
You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade

And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the dust to settle down along the
Back roads running through the fields
Lying on the outskirts of this lonesome town
And I imagine sunlight in your hair
You're at the county fair

You're holding hands and laughing
And now the ferris wheel has stopped
You're swinging on the top
Suspended there with him

And he's the darling of the chic
The flavor of the week is melting
Down your pretty summer dress
Baby, what a mess you're making

I've been stumbling through some dark places
Now I'm following the plow
I know I've fallen out of your good graces
It's alright now

And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the summer rain to fall upon the
Wild birds scattering the seeds
Answering the calling of the tide's eternal tune
The phases of the moon
The chambers of the heart
The egg and dart of small gray
Spiders spinning in the dark
In spite of all the times the web is torn apart

And I've been waiting in the weeds
Waiting for the time to come around again and
Hope is floating on the breeze
Carrying my soul high up above the ground and
I've been keeping to myself
Knowing that the seasons are slowly changing
Even though you're with somebody else
He'll never love you like I do


* * *

Last edited by Cally Conan-Davies; 06-20-2018 at 09:30 PM.
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  #8  
Unread 06-20-2018, 09:45 PM
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Robert Pecotte Robert Pecotte is offline
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Dear Cally,

Thank you, but for some irksome reason Youtube has blocked your poem. I have read it, but am denied the grace of hearing it.


Fr. Rob
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  #9  
Unread 06-20-2018, 09:50 PM
Cally Conan-Davies Cally Conan-Davies is offline
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Dear Father Rob,

It's a great song by The Eagles. I'm sorry you can't hear it -- the link is working for me. I'd love you to hear it -- it's a song that reminds me of Tim in so many ways.

(Could someone else check the link to see if it's working? Thank you!)

And Father Rob -- heartfelt thanks for what you are doing.

Cally
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  #10  
Unread 06-20-2018, 10:59 PM
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Jayne Osborn Jayne Osborn is offline
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The link works fine, Cally. Thanks for posting it - I've never heard that song before and it's lovely!!
And thank you for everything too, Father Rob.

Jayne
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