Shadows of Death

Sometimes I walk through cemeteries. It is a quiet excursion that fills me with both melancholy and solace. The solace comes from knowing that I am not alone in my grief.

I tend to be drawn to the older monuments. Some of them can be quite beautiful. Some simple, yet elegant and heartfelt.

I will sometimes wonder about the people buried under these very old monuments. What were they like? What were their dreams and desires? Who were the people beneath the ground I softly tread?

I can't help but notice that these older graves are no longer tended. Did the descendants of the deceased move away? Are there no more descendants left? Or are they simply forgotten?

Is their only legacy a slab of stone to mark their memory?

...And yet, I can help but wonder if this someday will be my fate as well?

...my existence forgotten beneath a stone?

(picture taken in SF 2006)