When Great Trees Fall by Maya Angelou

When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.

When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity. Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken. Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us. Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened. Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance,
 fall away. We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
 of dark, cold caves.

And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms ,slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed.

We can be. Be and be better.

For they existed.

Tributes from the RWL Community

A Remembrance

“…all of my Jodi memories are of her smiling or giving a kind of...somehow good natured? Side eye to nonsense. Didn't see her much in person since covid came so soon after I started coming to physical book club but her observations were always so incisive and well informed, I couldn't believe she was in med school or how young she was when I found out because she gave off this comfort and ease with compassion and knowledge about history, which is sometimes lacking in many doctors and medical hopefuls I've encountered. And she ran the Olive Senior book club like an absolute boss.

Feeling the loss and sending love and light to her family and all close to her. A brilliant light out too soon.”

by Rhea

“composure and clarity. that was my first impression of jodi, from my first full meeting. she always had sharp observations that she would back up with etymological, literary, medical, and other sources. but it took me at least a few more book club meetings to come to understand the lightness that jodi brought. meaning the type of lightness that you encounter when you know you're interacting with a self-actualized human being.

i remember our fun astrology night with the author junauda petrus because i found out that jodi was also a leo rising, and was completely excited that we had something in common. i dm'ed jodi this year, a feat for me given that dm's are truly terrifying for me. i'm glad i did. we talked about going to the folklore trivia event coming up, where she told us that the "douens," through possible spanish etymology, are likely a folkloric tie between caribbean and central american indigenous groups.

i thought mourning someone you've only known virtually would be weird. but with jodi, it makes all the sense in the world. i don't question it because her impact is so clear and so unmistakable. to her family, i wish you comfort and strength and guidance. i know that jodi didn't become jodi on her own. please know that even someone an ocean away was and is impacted by her life, and that her presence was unmistakable even virtually.”

by jacqui

Jodi <3

Some adjectives that come to mind when you think of Jodi are: warm, thoughtful, brilliant and trustworthy. Her presence was calming yet firm. In late 2019, Rebel Women Lit announced our library renewal project at Mary’s Child Home for Teen Mothers and Jodi was one of the first people in our community to express interest. Each Saturday we met, Jodi arrived with enthusiasm to help organize this space intended for the girls and their babies. She was extremely passionate about this project, and even came up with a system to help us track the book donations we had made, as well as categorise the books that already existed in the space. 

Last year, Mary’s Child stopped taking visitors very early into the pandemic. This decision brought our project to a complete stop. There was a high level of uncertainty surrounding the restart date, and the home’s administration couldn’t give us an estimated return date. Jodi’s dedication to this space showed itself in the many emails and whatsapp messages she sent trying to come up with ideas to regain access to the space:

“Do you think they would let us come back if all the members on the team are fully vaccinated?”

“Did you let them know we’ll be wearing our masks the entire time we’ll be there?”

“Hey :), any updates from Mary’s Child?”

Regrettably, the home still restricts visitors to the compound so this project still remains postponed. However, we will channel Jodi’s fervour and commitment to ensure this space is completed. Jodi shared our belief in the power of reading to help heal, connect, strengthen and validate ourselves. She shared our belief in books being a bridge to help us understand each other.

We will miss her kindness, her gentleness and her wittiness, but we hold a space in our hearts that is glad to have had the privilege to know her.

by Ashley