Greenock waters...

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.

I traveled to Greenock today, to attend the funeral of a very well liked and highly regarded colleague who sadly passed away - very unexpectedly and much too young - on 7th July. RIP Helen...

The poem above is often read at funerals and was written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932. According to Wikipedia, she had never written any poetry, but was inspired to do so by the plight of a young German Jewish woman, Margaret Schwarzkopf, who was staying with her and her husband in Baltimore. Margaret Schwarzkopf had been concerned about her mother, who was ill in Germany, but she had been warned not to return home because of increasing anti-Semitic unrest. When her mother died, the heartbroken young woman told Frye that she never had the chance to “stand by my mother’s grave and shed a tear”. Frye found herself composing a piece of verse on a brown paper shopping bag. Later she said that the words “just came to her” and expressed what she felt about life and death.

Apart from the sad reason for the trip, the trip to Greenock was very pleasant. The sun shone, the Waverley was docked at the water's edge and a group of singers and dancers were rehearsing outside the Greenock Arts Centre for the Commonwealth Games. Back to work in the afternoon...