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Do not cry
September 3, 2005
Do not stand by my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am a diamond glint on snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awake in the morning bush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight
I am the soft starshine at night
Do not stand by my grave and cry
I am not there... I did not die.
~ Anonymous
My step-grandmother's memorial service is today in Florida. I am unable to attend due to my heavy workload, but did get the Flash Retrospective DVD out the door in my stepmother's hands yesterday evening. Cathy was quite a lady, I've found. I feel for Colleen, my stepmother and her sisters, brothers, and countless nieces and nephews who are mourning today and for days to come.
An interesting little story ~ I found the poem above on the blog Time Goes By, which is an interesting and very well-written blog about aging. I highly recommend reading the post. I thought the poem was so lovely, I forwarded it to Rob. He emailed me back to say this very poem was read at his grandfather's funeral by his uncle. It brought back some really fond memories of a man he deeply loved.
This gave me the idea of forwarding the poem to Colleen. I figured it might be a nice addition to her mother's memorial DVD I was producing. She emailed me back to say she couldn't believe I had sent it. She had just been on the phone with her brother discussing the very same poem, but neither one of them could find it or remember it, and voila, my email appeared when she hung up the phone.
As Real Live Preacher commented a few months ago on my blog, "Sometimes poems find us." It's true. Poetry find us when ordinary prose falls short of the mark. Poetry, beauty, love, and elegance... they always seem to find me, and I hope they find you today.
These beautiful words will find my step-family today as they stand at Cathy's gravesite. I hope they find the comfort which is so elegantly woven into its lovely words.
Posted by susan at September 3, 2005 12:42 AM
Comments
My, Oh, My! Words escape me. I am so sorry that life seems to have thrown so much at you lately.
My condolences on the loss of your cat and your step-grandmother. My prayers are with you.
Posted by: Arthur at September 3, 2005 8:32 PM
