That Little Farmer's Cemetery...

As my father drove through the countryside, I sat in the passenger seat of the car. We were on our way out to my relative’s house for the holiday of Easter (a holiday that I still refer to it by its pre-Christian name: Ostara). The holiday was far from being at the center of my thoughts. I actually hate holidays to a certain degree; if I don’t get gifts or get to be with the people that I want to be with, the holiday is useless. But, by the will of my parents, I am forced to interact with the people I want to interact with the least, if not, not at all.

          At any rate, there was one bit of land that we passed that preoccupied my thoughts for a few miles. There was a small cemetery and only slightly further up on the hill laid a small farmhouse. It was such an interesting thing that I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down: “That Little Farmer’s Cemetery”. The thought of it gripped my mind in a weird fashion that I wasn’t used to.

          I’m not sure of why it peaked my interests; all I know is that it did. At some point in the following day, I reflected on what the plot of land actually meant to me. The area was not simply just a little bit of land with a few dead people underneath the grass. To me, it seemed like a significant, but subtle way to convey the brevity of mortality.

          How I saw it, was that the farmer who lived in the farmhouse was so close to the gravestones that he managed to contrast death to life. The farmhouse says something about the state of souls, the way they are.

          Our world is merely a house that we make out of it; and our dead are right behind our back porch. From time to time, we will look out the back window, pull up a chair to that same window, and drink a glass of wine and try to laugh at the headstones.

 

Daniel Helle, Twenty-fourth of April, Two Thousand and Eleven

Reviews

[Tom C]

Good. I like the line drink a glass of wine and try o laugh a the headstones. I also like the line ..it seemed like a significant, but subtle way to convey the BREVITY of mortality. Wonderful. Yes it is the simplest way to show that mortality is fast and simple. So close to death

[Coyote Poetry]

You are correct in this chapter. Life and death are close in our nature. No reason to hide from either. I like the set-up of the story. You took me on a good field trip with you. A excellent chapter.
Coyote

[Jessi Berlasty]

"How I saw it, was that the farmer who lived in the farmhouse" No comma. "pull up a chair to that same window, and drink a glass of wine and try to laugh at the headstones." Same here.

It's beautiful :-)

[Lily Mae]

I love cemeterys.. I don't know why but I've always liked looking at peoples little sayings and stories or wondering why some had nothing.. It is a real reminder on life being as close to us as death..x

[Matthew Smith]

Why call it by that old German name? o.O

Anyway, interesting write. I enjoyed the last paragraph.