in the latter part of the twentieth century through its exposure after a copy of it, addressed to his parents, was found in the pocket of Steven Cummins, a British soldier killed on active service in Northern Ireland.
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 circling 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 Elizabeth Frye (b.1904)
Matthew 6:25-34 ranks among the most highly regarded passages from the Bible when judged as literature. A reminder to all the faithful to abandon worldly concerns and to trust themselves instead to God’s bounty, it offers substantial consolation to those who are disillusioned or disappointed in their hopes of material gain.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Drink to me only with thine eyes
This love poem by Ben Jonson was first published in the miscellany entitled The Forest (1616). Today it is a popular choice of reading at wedding celebrations.
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I’ll not look for wine. The thirst that from the soul doth rise Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Jove’s nectar sup, I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee As giving it a hope that there It could not wither’d be; But thou thereon didst only breathe And sent’st it back to me; Since when it grows, and smells, I swear, Not of itself but thee!
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
Each eve Earth falleth down the dark
This poem by the English poet, artist and designer William Morris celebrates the revival of life and hope through faith and has a clear religious message. It remains a poignant source of consolation and encouragement to those who face disappointment or disillusionment.
Each eve Earth falleth down the dark,
As though its hopes were o’er; Yet lurks the sun when day is done Behind tomorrow’s door.
Grey grows the dawn while men-folk sleep,
Unseen spreads on the light, Till the thrush sings to the coloured things, And earth forgets her night.
No otherwise wends on our Hope;
E’en as a tale that’s told Are fair lives lost, and all the cost Of wise and true and bold.
We’ve toiled and failed; we spake the word;
None hearkened; dumb we lie; Our Hope is dead, the seed we spread Fell o’er the Earth to die.
What’s this? For joy our hearts stand still,
And life is loved and dear, The lost and found the Cause hath crowned, The Day of Days is here.
William Morris (1834-96)
Eternal Father, strong to save
This evergreen hymn, published in 1861, is indelibly associated with seafarers and is sometimes called the ‘sailors hymn’. Although an unsubstantiated tradition claims that William Whiting, a London-born grocer’s son who became Master of the Winchester choirboys, wrote this hymn for one of his choristers who was about to leave for America, it seems Whiting rather intended his lines to be interpreted as a metaphor for baptism and the ‘restless wave’ to stand for the world and all its troubles. The tune, written by John Bacchus Dykes, is called ‘Melita’, this being a reference to Malta (the place where St Paul was shipwrecked, according to Acts 27).
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave, Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea.
O Saviour, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard, Who walkedst on the foaming deep, And calm amid its rage didst sleep: O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea.
O sacred Spirit, who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude, Who bad’st its angry tumult cease, And gavest light and life and peace: O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea.
O Trinity of love and power,
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour; From rock and tempest, fire and foe, Protect them wheresoe’er they go: And ever let there rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
William Whiting (1825-78)
This biblical passage, from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, is a favourite choice of reading for marriage services, but it may also be recited on other occasions and remains one of the most oft-repeated descriptions of the generous nature of love. The Authorized (King James) Version of the passage renders ‘love’ as ‘charity’.
If
