Do not stand at my grave and weep
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Do not stand at my grave and weep is a popular poem, largely considered to be written by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1904-2004), but of disputed origin.
[edit] The Text
An early version, printed by others on postcards:
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 sunlight 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.
Her later confirmed version:
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.
The poem is made up of six (or sometimes eight) rhyming couplets. Various versions exist but, with the bulk of the work being made up of a selection of images preceded by "I am...", the sense is largely the same. The poem addresses the reader/ audience with the voice of a deceased person, invoking quite spiritual — but not specifically religious — imagery. According to the most generally accepted theory, that of Frye's writing the poem, it was originally addressed to a German Jewish girl, a friend of the author. The girl's mother had died back in her homeland, but returning to pay her respects was not possible and Frye wrote the poem as part of her condolences. The text soothes the addressee, reassuring of the deceased's life after death in both its message and its voice, and as such has become very popular poem, and a common reading for funerals.
[edit] Origins
There is some ambiguity as to the poem's writer, and it was neither published nor copywrited by Frye, although she was the only living person to credibly claim its authorship. Frye is near universally cited as the author, and her literary significance is based almost entirely upon it, but other sources, including traditional native American origins, have been suggested over the years.
