I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,
and leave you only the cherished memory of the  loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly
a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.

-- Abraham Lincoln
November 1864

I Am Not Here

Don't stand by my grave and weep
For I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamonds glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in mornings hush
I am the swift uplifting rush.
Of quiet birds in circle flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there, I did not die.

Kim Hill