Words On a Headstone
Posted: Monday, February 16, 2009
by Robin Newman
Robin J
Loving partner, devoted wife, cherished sister, missed child what words will grace my headstone? As winter covers the landscape in a comfort blanket of white I try to place a lifetime onto a square piece of marble. But it is impossible to put it all into one sentence. Not that I am thinking of leaving the planet anytime soon too much unfinished work to do, its just a contemplation a middle age thought process the kind that happens when time begins to slip away.
An Old man whose memory is fading sits in an armchair everyday staring at a picture of two cowboys and each day he reminds his wife how much he loves this picture although he cant recall who the artist is. He may never remember but it doesn't matter I did not create the picture for fame.
Maybe the words would read "She gave joy to others"
My son sleeps in a bed I built a solid wood structure etched deeply with spiritual carvings. We are in different countries I am in Canada he is in Australia but the bed with all its meaning brings me to him in ways an email never could.
Maybe the words will read "Will always be with us"
Before I left Australia I sold several large art works to a lady at the flea markets for $100 well below what they were worth. She took 4 weeks to pay off the debt in $25 installments. Now in a run down government rented home with stained carpet and broken pipes there is a magical wall of art that gives her a sense of pride a sense of hope a sense of dignity and a way of escaping the stark reality of her situation.
Maybe the words would read "Touched the lives of many"
As the sun begins to disappear in a blaze of crimson color I look outside at the bare trees laden with snow and I think maybe there should be no words left to write. I think I will ask they throw me up into the wind in one final act of giving back to the universe and let nature be my tombstone.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)"Strange isn't it how we need to know how people will see us at the end and yet don't worry about the impression we make at the beginning."
How true those words are, Robin. I sat pensively after reading this article. Our lives should be lived filling in the - (dash) between our year of birth and year of demise. As you've shared, the dash is what matters. Words on a headstone could never say it all.
I enjoyed how you composed this and portrayed how our lives should give meaning to others with little regard for personal recognition. I was inspired by it. Thank you!
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