When we grieve, we search for something — anything — to create an anchor to what reality was before our loss.
When I lost my dad, I was reminded of a poem I’d found during our family vacation in Colorado a few years before.
These words served as an anchor for me and reminded me of my faith in the days, weeks, months, and years following his death.
Don’t 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.
In the comments section, I hope you’ll share the poetry or prose that has served as an anchor for you in times of grief and sorrow.
Would you like to share your story? Please get in touch with Kate's Club! KC has free grief support with grief resources, grief counseling resources, grief training, and volunteer work in Atlanta and surrounding places in Georgia. Kate's Club is a growing nonprofit in Atlanta with grief specialists for kids and young adults going through bereavement. Our goal is to make a world where it is okay to grieve.