I went to the Friday’s 7PM Mass at St. Joseph the Worker Church – I used to do it on my birthday to give my gratitude to Him for all His gifts and blessings. The mass was also served as memorial mass for one of our deceased church members. There’s a very lovely poem on the distributed paper:
I am with you still
I give you this one thought to keep -
I am with you still – 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 think of me as gone -
I am with you still – in each new dawn.
~ Anonymous ~
Father Mario gave a very touching homily. Catholic Christians cannot be dead because our body and soul will be united when we’re raised from the dead. A little bit consoling for the ones who’re left behind… The poem touches my heart deeply – I wonder how I’d take it when one day the people I love finish their pilgrimage in this world and leave me…
I posted the poem on my Facebook. Only then I knew from Kawamura-san that the poem has become a very popular song and loved by so many people there. I googled and found this lovely poem and song.
According to some information the evidence indicates that Mary Frye is the author of Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep – although the origin of this poem is still in dispute. Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004) was a housewife from Baltimore, USA. When a friend’s mother died this apparently prompted Mary Frye to compose the verse, which in various forms has for decades now touched and comforted many thousands of people, especially at times of loss and bereavement. Click this link for more info.
I posted two versions of the song here (source: YouTube).
1. I am A Thousand Winds by Hayley Wistenra – I bet you’ll cry when you listen to this song. *smile*
The lyric is as follows:
Please do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain
I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow
Please do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there, I did not die
I am the swift rush of birds in flight
I am the stars that shine at night
I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow
Please do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there, I do not sleep
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain
I am a thousand winds
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glint on snow
I am a thousand winds that blow
2. Sen no kaze ni natte by the Japanese tenor, Masafumi Akikawa.
I pray that I still have the time and opportunity to show His love to others that need it and to show my love to my loved ones. And, yes, please do not stand at my grave and weep… be glad, because I am a thousand winds that blow… *smile*
