Kert, this is such an exquisitely beautiful piece, layered in its tone of loss, grounding, remembrance and impermanence. I was especially struck by the lines in your poem about two deaths, the one at last breath and the one when the last rememberer is gone. There is such beauty in that fragility.
Like you, I would prefer a green burial under trees or meadows of wild flowers, no marker. I want to be a part of nature's cycle of death as compost for new life.
You've inspired me to check my files for past essays that lay in wait -- our current moment is sometimes too overwhelming to stay present in its folds. Thank you for this beautiful piece that stirred the memories of my own father's funeral, and the laying to rest of a body but not the connection still pulsing in my heart.
Sending love and goodwill. May we all strive to be good humans . . . ~stephanie
Kert, this is such an exquisitely beautiful piece, layered in its tone of loss, grounding, remembrance and impermanence. I was especially struck by the lines in your poem about two deaths, the one at last breath and the one when the last rememberer is gone. There is such beauty in that fragility.
Like you, I would prefer a green burial under trees or meadows of wild flowers, no marker. I want to be a part of nature's cycle of death as compost for new life.
You've inspired me to check my files for past essays that lay in wait -- our current moment is sometimes too overwhelming to stay present in its folds. Thank you for this beautiful piece that stirred the memories of my own father's funeral, and the laying to rest of a body but not the connection still pulsing in my heart.
Sending love and goodwill. May we all strive to be good humans . . . ~stephanie
Wow, Kert, such beautiful words - and yes, timely.
"...spread me to the winds and the waters
and the soil;
plant me in the landscape,
and your heart.
if i die a second time,
and i might,
at least i’ll die within you."