Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Magic Potion
I love the way the rust colored moss seems to rise out of the potion jar. Sacred Heart of Mary, Boulder, Colorado
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
When You Can't Afford a Tombstone
When you can't afford a tombstone, your loved ones create one for you from bits and pieces of things that they have. City of Louisville Cemetery, Colorado
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Vocabulary of the Dead
Necropolis: city of the dead; cemetery; ancient burial ground.
Necomancer: one who performs sorcery and divination through communication with the dead.
Necrophobia: fear of death; fear of dead bodies.
Necrosis: death of animal or plant tissue.
Necrolatry: worship of the dead.
Necromimesis: believing that you're dead.
Necrophilia: erotic attraction to dead people.
Necromantheion: oracle of death. It is a door to the Underworld, the realm of the dead.
Necomancer: one who performs sorcery and divination through communication with the dead.
Necrophobia: fear of death; fear of dead bodies.
Necrosis: death of animal or plant tissue.
Necrolatry: worship of the dead.
Necromimesis: believing that you're dead.
Necrophilia: erotic attraction to dead people.
Necromantheion: oracle of death. It is a door to the Underworld, the realm of the dead.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Alone
She's been without him for 28 years. Is she still alive or is she buried somewhere else? Green Mountain Cemetery, Longmont, Colorado
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Guess Things Happen That Way
Well you ask me if I'll forget my baby.
I guess I will, someday.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.
by Johnny Cash
I guess I will, someday.
I don't like it but I guess things happen that way.
by Johnny Cash
Monday, May 08, 2006
Rivers of the Underworld
Columbia Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado
Styx: sacred river of unbreakable oath. Styx is also the name of a goddess and is the only female river. To swear by the Styx was the most holy oath a god could make.
Phlegethon: river of fire. It burns but does not consume.
Acheron: river of woe. The dead are ferried across by Charon, if they have been fortunate enough to have been supplied with the fare by their loved ones.
Cocytus: river of lamentation. Those who cannot pay the fare wander here, wailing, for a hundred years.
Lethe: river of forgetfulness. Drink here and forget.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
In Memory of Eric
One Friday night in February, Eric C., 16, tried to kill himself with a drug overdose. He was mostly successful. He wound up in intensive care, his life hanging by a thread, and that thread tied to this earth by high-tech machines. There was no hope, though, and so on Sunday his parents gave permission to remove him from life-support. In this way they finished the job they themselves had started on Friday afternoon, when Eric told them he was gay and they kicked him out of the house. He was a sophomore at Fairview High School and an acquaintance of my children. I don't know where he's been laid to rest.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
1932
Fresh flowers and plants grace the stone of someone who's been gone 70 years. Cemetery, City of Lafayette, Colorado
Monday, May 01, 2006
Famous
The Flatirons, world-renowned Mecca for rock climbers, form a backdrop to a headstone in Green Mountain Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Spear and Flower
A spear and a flower stand guard duty at a soldier's stone. Cemetery, City of Lafayette, Colorado.
A Very Old Cemetery
I went up to Columbia Cemetery in Boulder (Colorado) after work to shoot some pics. It felt empty and dreary there, for all the sun shone and cheery dandelions proclaimed the return of spring. No one leaves decorations by the gravestones there, the way they do at Louisville and Lafayette cemeteries. At Louisville and Lafayette, the dead are The Dearly Departed, much loved, much respected and much missed. The dead at Columbine Cemetery are The Forgotten.
In all fairness, though, Columbia is a very old cemetery. Who remembers you when you've been dead for 50 years? Who is there to put flowers on your grave when you've been gone a century?
In all fairness, though, Columbia is a very old cemetery. Who remembers you when you've been dead for 50 years? Who is there to put flowers on your grave when you've been gone a century?
Friday, April 21, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Pinwheel
This cheery pinwheel, whirling in the breeze, celebrates the life of someone's dear departed. Cemetery, City of Lafayette
Thoughts on Persephone
The goddess Kore went down to the underworld and became Persephone. She didn't go of her own free will. Like we mortals are, she was kidnapped. Unlike we mortals, she was released and she returned. Her mother had advocated for her and won her freedom. But no one advocates for mortals. Once we're gone, we're gone, no matter that our mother grieves and beseeches the gods for us.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Hawk and Sparrow
I went to my dad's last night to help pay bills, as I've done every week without fail (practically) since Mom died five years ago. Dad's 70 now. He enjoys life and people very much. His hair's been white for a while but suddenly last night, he looked as though the years were catching up with him. It was easy for me to imagine being at his funeral the way we'd been at Mom's.
He told me how he saw a hawk catch a sparrow the other day. The hawk perched on his back fence and ripped the sparrow to shreds. It was horrible to watch. I spent the evening thinking about how death stalks each one of us. It lurks right behind. We might die violently or gently, but we are gonna die. Remember that, and let it make each moment sweeter.
He told me how he saw a hawk catch a sparrow the other day. The hawk perched on his back fence and ripped the sparrow to shreds. It was horrible to watch. I spent the evening thinking about how death stalks each one of us. It lurks right behind. We might die violently or gently, but we are gonna die. Remember that, and let it make each moment sweeter.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
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