Ashes

A graveyard is not for me-
I am not a stone.
I am not a box,
Not shut away, alone.

Nor am I a name,
I did not earn such a thing.
No arrangement of letters
Represents me.

A graveyard is not for me,
And never was since birth.
I cannot be trapped
Beneath the crusty earth.

How dare you trap me,
And let others tread on me?
How dare you offer flowers
To a stone? It is not me

I am not even the body
That you see before you.
What I am
Is never the same as who.

Do not mourn me,
Do not have any fears.
Do not cry in my name,
I am not tears.

I am a memory,
I am a friend,
I am a reason to smile
When darkness descends.

I am a lesson.
I am an inventor
Of powerful emotions,
And I am a mentor.

I am dreams.
I am sparkling eyes.
In the middle of the night,
I'm the hidden sunrise.

I have touched hearts,
Held them against mine.
I am no object-
Not easy to define.

Burn this body,
And set me free.
Burn this encasement.
A graveyard is not for me.

Set me to the wind
From a high mountain peak.
Let me see the world.
Let me be me.

Let me touch the dew drops,
Let me raise flowers,
Let me flow through meadows
And play in April showers.

Do not mourn me,
All must pass.
Forget my name, my face-
But let my lessons last.

Remember kindness,
Be gentle as a dove.
Remember to smile.
Remember to love.

But forget me-
I really won't mind.
Life will stay beautiful,
As you shall find.


But a graveyard is not for me-
I am no stone, don't you see?