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That may be the meaning of life.
But we do language.
That may be the measure of our lives.
She begins with a folk story about an old blind woman known for her wisdom.
Is the bird I am holding living or dead?
one child asks the woman.
From that sparse outline of a narrative, Morrison spins the story outward.
The question the children put to her: Is it living or dead?
Who are they, these children?
If the old and wise who have lived life and faced death cannot describe either, who can?
Thetranscript of the speech is available here,and its worth reading in its entirety.
It was not with language or with death.
Look, she says in closing.
How lovely it is, this thing we have done together.
Listen to the audio of the full speech below:
