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A Cemetery Sunrise

One Person's Sunrise is Another Person's Sunset.

By Maurice BernierPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Photo by Fabrice Nerfin on unsplash.com

There are some sights that are hard to describe. One may have an idea, but describing it exactly is something very hard to do. I should know. I am trying to describe it here.

Cemeteries are quite an unusual place. No matter how you look at them and no matter what you think of them, we are all going to end up there at some point or other. There is no doubt about it. A cemetery will soon be our new and permanent home. How soon depends on how our lives are lived.

It is hard to believe, but I sometimes see a cemetery as a work of art IF it is seen right. Yes, it is a place of respect. Yes, the remains of the deceased are placed there to rest. All I am saying is that, as the title says, it can also be a place of beauty if one can look at it in such a way. For example, it is April 17, 2019, the day that I am writing this article. At roughly a few minutes after 6 AM, I drove past my parents' burial ground. As I was getting ready to drive by, I saw a very powerful sunrise. It was a beautiful bluish-pinkish sky. It was easy to see where the previous night had ended and where the new day was to begin. It was like no other sunrise that I had seen before.

When I was in high school, I was in a school that overlooked a humongous cemetery. It was in a stairwell that I was found embracing my then-girlfriend. I kissed her and then looked out at the cemetery. It was sunrise!!! It was beautiful just like she was. I stared at the skyline. It reminded me of the many times I would look outside of the front window of my home. In the case of my home, I was looking at the view was blocked by trees and houses. In order to see some of the sunsets where I lived, I had to go a few blocks from my home—ironically—to the nearest cemetery just to view the rising sun in the morning. What a scene!!!

As I was hugging my then-girlfriend, I thought about something. What may be a good time for me may be a bad time for someone else. When I look at the clock, someone is being born every minute. Likewise, each hour, someone is dying each minute. What may be a sunrise for me could be a sunset for someone else. As my family experiences joy in a day, someone else must experience some pain. It could also be that a good day for me could also be a good day for someone else and a bad day for me could also be a bad day for someone else. It is so really hard to tell as you are watching a sunrise on a very beautiful sunny morning.

It is a very nice sunny day in May of 2019. Many people who are near and dear to me are gone from this life: parents, baby sister, a secret love, two music teachers, and a whole host of friends too numerous to name here. Still, I enjoy watching the sunrises and the sunsets. One day, my sunrise will have a sunset. Hopefully, somebody MIGHT miss me as well. I won't hold my breath on that one.

And so, I must move on. Whenever I look at a cemetery in the sunset or at sundown, I always think of the Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening."

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Yes. And before I decide to close my eyes for good, I, too, have many miles to go before I join my deceased brethren in my own eternal sleep. Until then, I will just go about to enjoy and appreciate life.

Photo by Joy Real on Unsplash

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About the Creator

Maurice Bernier

I am a diehard New Yorker! I was born in, raised in and love my NYC. My blood bleeds orange & blue for my New York Mets. I hope that you like my work. I am cranking them out as fast as I can. Please enjoy & share with your friends.

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