If Cemeteries Had No Tombstones
Lina Ru
If Cemeteries Had No Tombstones
If cemeteries had no tombstones... If poetic pieces were upon trees that grow from our lover's ashes, forests would become sacred again. Rather than adorning our defunct with polymers, flowers that never die, burr grass, numbers carved shallow in stones, we could allow art to heal our losses, honor through the poetic, an expression that is devoured by nature as it eats hungry our loved. If we entrust ourselves to nature, honour death as a transformation, blissful expansion, what is, becomes historical, a timeless mentor, our humble reconciliation with the fact that we all need to leave a warm trail worth of a yesterday. If we entrust ourselves to nature, our power would tell us to return the lilies, the moist breath it gave us as a favor, even the struggles, mismatched flavours, tingling sensations, despite fugacity, once planted actions would bounce, lingering echoes stretching toward the last horizon of another, whose sunshine is you. If cemeteries had no tombstones, our history would stand in stillness, chirps and tweets would free us from the fear of death, honoured could we grow to be one of them, sucklings still teaching us how to be an unsynced unity that at last unites death with life, not morbidly, but in a way that heals those who hunger for significance in vastness, seeking to reconcile the past with the present, so we can; the future can forge a stream amongst the boughs that now flow, breathe, grow, love in ways we thought would be impossible: by endearing nature thoroughly, reaching sacredness as worn out ash becomes the root we've evermore been.
The concept of planting trees with our ashes already exists. In fact, there is already a company that offers this kind of service: Bios Urn. If you are interested in promoting the creation of these kind of forests, you can support the company’s kickstarter to create a monitor system (incubator) for your urn. This poem is not sponsored by them in any way. If you know about other projects contributing into this idea of transforming cemeteries into forests, please comment below.
Suzy Hazelwood says:
This is beautiful, very thought provoking, and I totally agree with you Lina, cemeteries should be places of healing!!
Both my parents are gone now, buried in a cemetery not far from me in the heart of a city. It does have tombstones, some very ancient ones too. It would be better if there weren’t any, and that my parents grave didn’t have a stone on their grave, but what is done is done.
I visited a few months ago filmed a beautiful sunny day, listened to birds sing sweetly, even saw a baby fox cub – it was beautiful, the nature is healing for the emotions there. I have memories of visiting with my dad when my mum was the only one not here, it was never morbid for us because we almost didn’t see the tombstones. My dad used to mimic the birds and hear them return their birdsong calls – it was fascinating they replied to a man! So I’m lucky the place has healing memories and is a wonderful wildlife haven – if only all cemeteries could be like that way.
The last time I visited my brother suggested cleaning the shiny stone, I said “No, lets stop doing that, lets leave it be and enjoy the the wildlife and the birds.” Our parents were not obsessive grave visitors and so never taught us to be either – I’m so grateful for that!
There is a cemetery in the city where I live that is just trees, no stones allowed, and burials must be eco-friendly or ashes scattered. So the idea of no tombstones is catching on – I much prefer that kind of cemetery.
You have a lovely voice too, and what a beautiful way to present your poetry in a video! I shall visit you tomorrow on You Tube – I’m also a poet on You Tube. So pleased John left a link from WordPress to your inspiring blog here.
Suzy :o)
Lina Ru says:
Suzy, thank you for your thoughtful comment. The fact that you know a cemetery that actually strives to unite us with nature is inspiring. I apologize for taking so long to reply to you. Your comment made me reflect upon the narrowing of life and the expansion of it through our memories. The way you let me know how your father used to communicate with birds and how you decided not to clean the headstone is inspiring. I visited your website and realized your work is fascinating. I would love collaborate with you someday. Blue is an enthralling video. Thank you for your comment and for sharing your art. Best wishes and I hope we can further this conversation someday.