The Monument Immortal

I don't consider myself to be a morbid person. I'm not fascinated with death. I am a little fascinated with the trappings of life and death, however. I can hardly drive past a cemetery without wanting to get out of the car and take as many pictures as I can.

I'm especially fond of stones that tell a story, and cemetery statuary. I've gotten familiar enough with the older symbolism, that I can usually tell with fair accuracy, a little bit about the life of the person who lays there now. New stones aren't quite the open book that the old ones used to be. They're bland. The sort of faceless, cookie-cutter trappings that reflect our modern life of cookie-cutter houses and beige neighbourhoods.

I'm occassionally asked what I would like on my own tombstone when I pass, as we all do. I'd like the old saw, I think:

"Remember me as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I,
As I am now, so shall you be,
Prepare thyself to follow me."