Do not stand at my grave and weep 
I am not there. I do not sleep. 
I am a thousand winds that blow. 
I am the diamond glints on snow. 
I am the sunlight on ripened grain. 
I am the gentle autumn rain. 
When you awaken in the morning's hush 
I am the swift uplifting rush 
Of quiet birds in circled flight. 
I am the soft stars that shine at night. 
Do not stand at my grave and cry; 
I am not there. I did not die. 
This is a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye and it is my absolute favorite poem. I think the thing I like most about this poem is that it brings beauty to death. When someone dies you are sad, obviously. But this poem is about not being sad that your loved one is gone because they're not gone, they are in the earth, the wind, the snow; back into nature.
Another reason I adore this poem is because being as nonreligious as I am it's a nice way to think about death. You get the eternal life thing when you're accepted into heaven as a christian but I think that this is the atheist equivalent. 
Being able to always be alive in some way, and I think that's a nice thought to be in the wind or the snow or in the stars. Because let's be honest, no one really wants to die, including me. 
3/1/2013 01:14:15 am

I disagree with your statement "no one really wants to die" because in reality there are people who do want their own lives to end, but other than that i think that this post is nice.

Reply
em
3/4/2013 01:34:30 am

well obviously there are people who want their lives to end, but that's the point, it's THEIR life they want to end. they dont want to die, they just want to have a different life.

Reply



Leave a Reply.