One of the most poignant poems I ever read, followed by some related sentiments:
(The above is a scene from ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral):
Funeral Blues (Stop All the Clocks) by W.H. Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
It is Not the End
It is not the end of the world,
when it is the end of a life;
it is the beginning of another life,
in ‘another’ world.
The best way to honour a relationship
is not by despair that it is lost,
but to be grateful for what it was worth.
It is not the end of a relationship,
when it is the end of a life;
it is but the temporal suspension of it,
till another time.
I understand pain so much that
if i could i would want to be
the bodhisatva that vanquishes pain
in everyone’s heart.
I understand growth too much
to do what i wish i could and would.
amitabha!
Do it then!
Amituofo
Hi, I don’t know where the following is from, but will you please tell me what is the source please? This is urgent as my family wants to use it as the only words spoken in my cousin’s funeral.
It is Not the End
It is not the end of the world,
when it is the end of a life;
it is the beginning of another life,
in ‘another’ world.
The best way to honour a relationship
is not by despair that it is lost,
but to be grateful for what it was worth.
It is not the end of a relationship,
when it is the end of a life;
it is but the temporal suspension of it,
till another time.
Thanks.
Hi, it was written by me Shen Shi’an.
My condolences.
Amituofo
Shian,
Thank you for this I just sent it to my Mother who has recently had a pet die.
as Thanksgiving holiday arrives here in the U.S. you, your words of inspiration, and this site are something I give a great deal of THANKS for.
With Much Metta,
Sean
Hi Sean, thank you for finding the stuff here useful. Happy Thanksgiving too :-]
Amituofo