Then it became passed on. On to what? Like a bus going on to the next stop?
Or even passed over - over what and to where? The river of death? Or is it like the poem in my beloved Anne of Green Gables stories quoted when Matthew died. (Correct me if I'm wrong ; it's been a long time since I read them.)
Tennyson's Crossing the Bar
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
How do we talk about death? What does it mean? The other day I spoke with a young woman about her fear of death. Will it come too soon? Is it the end? Is it like moving from one home to another or like going to bed in your parents' bed and waking up in the morning in your own?Now it seems in talking about death people are simply using the term passing. No on or over or away. They'll talk about the day Dad passed or mention that someone passed recenlty. To me 'passed' sounds like what you try to do for exams or 'I passed my driving test'. But wait a minute, that phrase rings a bell.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." Ah, passed - from, and to. That works for me...
I'll freely admit that death scares me.
ReplyDeleteThere might not be any other life.
I was told by someone who sought to reassure me that as long as one was remembered, one would live on in the memories of others. That is not, in fact, reassuring. People tend to forget within a few years and certainly most memories are gone after a generation. If there are no stories, what is left?
Perhaps simply to have a movement of energy and molecules.
I fear it.
Not many are as honest as you, Heather. I also have reservations about living on in the memories of others. After immediate family are gone only few are likely to be be remembered. The unknown is always scary. I think I fear the death of those I love more than my own.
DeleteNot many are as honest as you, Heather. I also have reservations about living on in the memories of others. After immediate family are gone only few are likely to be be remembered. The unknown is always scary. I think I fear the death of those I love more than my own.
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