Today is All Souls, yesterday was All Saints. Two days that remind us that death is part of life. Two days to not only think of loved ones that aren’t here anymore, but also to visit them. Two days that cemeteries are not gloomy but full of colour and life. And that is exactly the message that American poet Mary Elizabeth Frye delivers with this poem. Death might seem final, but life finds a way to go on. In an autumn rain or the soft stars at night.
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.
Mary Elizabeth Frye
Alix in Wonderland 