Stories and Stones | Teen Ink

Stories and Stones

June 20, 2011
By ohheyyyelli SILVER, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
ohheyyyelli SILVER, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
5 articles 3 photos 178 comments

I like taking a moment to stop at each gravestone and wonder what this person’s life was; surely more than a name and two dates. Was this person tall and slender with wispy red-blonde curls? Or was he short and tan, with a crooked white smile? What types of suffering did this person endure? Who came by his grave to drop off flowers and teardrops when he first passed?

It doesn’t seem fair, for someone’s life to be over, just like that. For everything that’s happened to suddenly mean nothing. All of the sadness that overtook him at night, and all of the happy memories that left him smiling to himself on sunny mornings, simply forgotten.

Maybe cemetery’s aren’t meant for visiting the ones we still miss, but to fill in the blanks for those who have no one left on Earth to miss them; even if we’re filling them in false. We need to create a past for the name carved into the stone. I think it’s nice to sit by someone’s grave, Indian style, close my eyes, and dream up a life for them, to keep them on earth a little longer. It’s bittersweet, really. It’s nostalgia in the strangest form.

The author's comments:
When I first started visiting my dad's grave site, it was terribly heartbreaking. I had to clench my jaw and bite my tongue to fight the tears. But now I like to have a quick chat, and then move on. Just because he is the only person I lost, does not mean he is the only lovely person buried there, and that's where this writing piece comes in.

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This article has 5 comments.


on Feb. 2 2012 at 1:52 pm
OneProzacADay PLATINUM, State College, Pennsylvania
37 articles 0 photos 58 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You are the universe expressing itself as human for a little while." -Eckhart Tolle

I love this! I thought I was strange for doing that but now I see I'm not alone :)

on Jul. 22 2011 at 5:00 pm
thetruthawaits94 SILVER, Duncan, Oklahoma
9 articles 0 photos 351 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.

I love this. You know, I've honestly never thought about this before and I thank you because I now see. Nice. :)

on Jul. 22 2011 at 11:51 am
ohheyyyelli SILVER, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
5 articles 3 photos 178 comments
Thanks guys[: This is just a random thought I figured I'd write out haha. Thanks for the feedback!

gigi01 GOLD said...
on Jul. 22 2011 at 11:24 am
gigi01 GOLD, Seffner, Florida
17 articles 0 photos 64 comments
Very interesting and true... Great job!

on Jul. 20 2011 at 1:50 pm
redhairCat PLATINUM, Pebble Beach, California
47 articles 20 photos 411 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I can do anything!"

I feel the same way at cementaries - wondering what these people were like.