Hillside Vigil
A poem
Sunburst in the Riesengebirge (Caspar David Friedrich, 1835)
He stood there by the gaping hole, An open wound gashed on the green hill-side. A clod of earth gave way and fell Upon the casket lid. The one inside Heard not the lonely thud it made, And if a sound to be a sound relied Upon attentive ears it made No sound; he stood, and no tears dried. The hill of stones was green with life, The growing clouds behind were black as sin, The wind cut like the embalmer’s knife And no one stood with him. Narcissus never gazed as long, Nor stared as deep as now he stared; What visions there the cold reflection shared The silent stones and crosses never dared To ask. The night came on.
This really is a very moving poem. "And no one stood with him." and I can just see him staring into the depths there.
A clod of earth gave way and fell
Upon the casket lid. The one inside
Heard not the lonely thud it made
.
The clod and the thud. Always the most difficult moment for me at a funeral of a loved one.
You didn't hide from it here. Visceral and graceful.