Does one's community allow one to decide how the body can be disposed of, once the soul has left? I find that "this is how it is done" prevails very often, sometimes even over the person's expressed wishes, with relatives and friends joining in to add their opinions. This applies to the rituals (many of which are meaningless to me) mandated by each ( Read more... )

Your time has come.
No time to stop.
No time to gather your thoughts.
No time to settle your debts.
No time to collect things you lent out.
No tine to do the many things you wanted to do.
No time to wonder what is going to happen.
No time to say goodbye.
No time at all.
Your time has come.

I don't want fame ( Read more... )

Do we not all have days ( Read more... )

Requiem for a maid ( Read more... )

A letter to a bereaved spouse ( Read more... )

How many ways we have of describing death! Expired, passed away (or just, passed), drew the last breath, gave up the ghost, became immortal, crossed the rainbow bridge, went to reside in the stars ( Read more... )

My friend Ina Mondkar sent me this lovely (though sad) poem by Mary Oliver (who often writes about the natural world. The "Lord God" woodpecker refers to the Ivory-biiled woodpecker ( Read more... )

Foam...when we hear the word, we think of several things. The foaming waves crashing on the shore; the foam that forms at the mouth of a horse that has galloped at full speed; why, even the foam on top of a glass of chilled beer on a sunny afternoon ( Read more... )

Do we not all have days ( Read more... )