Funeral for a friend

Songs that we’d like at our funeral are a common topic of conversation between a friend and I. However, as someone who is determined to shoehorn Who Built the Ark into her wedding [the congregation must shout “Noah! Noah! at relevant intervals], I am not entirely convinced by her choices. Not that a wedding (or, God forbid, a funeral!) is imminent, but it’s good to think about these things.

Anyway, have you noticed how TV funerals rely on a cool song to twist the knife in your heart, or a well-placed poem to get the tear ducts going. Anyway, this one was on TV tonight:

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

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 sun 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.

Mary Frye (1932)

I like it.