Sunday, July 17, 2005

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Sometimes
All that we have
In common
Is death



Sometimes
It comes
Sometimes
It goes



Sometimes
We think about it
Sometimes
We try not to think about it



Sometimes
It happens close to us
Sometimes
It happens to those close to us



Sometimes
We forget about it
Sometimes
We can't stop thinking about it



Sometimes
It's here
Sometimes
It's not



Sometimes
It brings
Us together
Forever


39 comments:

Princessse said...

A topic often less written about, much less spoken about... but here, done most simply yet with great style; soberly yet with a punch; with imagination but bringing home reality.

Amazing.

{illyria} said...

no words for this. you've written very eloquently about the subject that all that is left to do is sit and read and admire.

Teleute said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Teleute said...

beautiful. n very very poignant.

gulnaz said...

stumped, flabbergasted. you have written so simply, so eloquently about something which all of us have felt yet are left grappling with words which just never quite come out right. am amazed at your talent.

sometimes it even drives apart.

i really liked the way you have chosen the visual element of this post. death is not nameless.

Martin said...

Like the shots of the gravestones between he text. Nice touch!

Strange coincidence! I was thinking of doing something similar to this! I still probably will. I want to go shoot some gravestones at some point. For me, and I am guessing for you too by this posting that grave stones really bring home death and give it a name, make it personal.

Your few words between each picture are just right. It makes each point with a hard punch. The last lines are the best and a very good way to finish.

- Martin

Adrian Neibauer said...

I agree completely. The use of gravestones is very effective.

thoughts said...

hey reminded me of a war cemetery in kohima.."When you go home, tell them of us: that for their tomorrow, we gave our today," reads an epitaph out there...

and one more thing that Death does is to humble u ....a great leveller distinguishing no boundaries, class or creed... one lesson i wish we could learn from it ...

Anonymous said...

now there i saw the hidden messages... still capturing my heart during these times i feel six feet under the ground. wonderful choice of "place" to take pics.
and yes thanks for the sympathys..

Sindhuja Parthasarathy said...

"Sometimes
It brings
Us together
Forever."

Intriguing...beautiful.

About the other verses,iam almost tempted to think they sound like nursery rhymes!

Too critical,that?

Brood Mode said...

you've stated the bitter truth... someday we simply have to submit to everlasting sleep.

junat said...

well something that i dont quite like to think about ....

but still admire the way u've presented it...

Ram said...

you have written in a simple manner about a subject very not so simple and the epitaphs just merge with your lines.. subtle yet arresting..

majamom said...

THe physical prints interwoven with your words creates a digital canvas.
Very clear, thought provoking.

N a m a s t e ,

MB

KJ said...

beautiful....

:..M..: said...

Haunting.

musafir said...

Simple yet striking.

"Sometimes
It brings
Us together
Forever" -- very true. It takes something as irreversible as death for us to see things clearly.

The gravestones were quite poignant, and I couldn't help wondering about the period to which they belong -- is there a reason? Reminded me of "Monument Hill" in Fremantle (where I'd been to during my visit to Perth) which was full of memorials to sailors and soldiers who had died during the two big wars. The words on them were sober and stirring without going overboard -- just like in your post.

Touching.

M said...

Death will come...it's inevitable. From the day we are born we are destined to die.

Sometimes it makes me wonder why we slog like this day in & day out - instead of enjoying the little time we have on this planet.

. : A : . said...

Princesse, transience, teleute, gulnaz - Thank you so much for your wonderful words.

luz de la luna - Look forward to seeing your piece.

stan laurel, paddy, Ram, MARYBETH, KJ, :..M..:, Avik - Thanks.

thoughts - Thanks for sharing your perspective. Really like the line, "When you go home, tell them of us: that for their tomorrow, we gave our today,"

Anonymous - And what are the hidden messages?

Samudraa - You take what you like out of it. I was trying to be simple, might have oversimplified? :-)

Brood Mode - Yes we do.

musafir - The dates are there on most of them. They are from the 1600s. Thanks for your words.

Manjusha - I am not sure I have the answer to that.

yvaine - Yes it is.

Rahul said...

Nice.

Leaves me wondering with one question.

What is LIFE?

Itineranting said...

A, you made my monday morning morbid! Not that it needed any extra push! Thankfully, it was interesting enough for me to gloss over the RIPs & appreciate the concept!But damn, to think that you spent time at a graveyard!

eismcsquare said...

Sometimes (Tomb) stones speak more than the dead. And the dead speak more than those alive.

One day, I just want to do a photography project on this.

mermaid said...

I liked the different outcomes death can have for different individuals, and how it can bring the most unlikely characters together mourning a common cause.

Paul said...

It's certainly a reality that's thought about much more often than discussed. Your repeated marker imagery reminds me of that saying that I seem to recall is featured in some monasteries, only rendered in Latin, but in English it goes, "Remember death."

We happen to be in synch here with our posts. I'm interested if you should have any non-metaphorical thoughts on this to share as well.

Anonymous Poet said...

The words here are sparse. But combined with the images you have selected, the impact is particularly powerful.

Michael said...

imagine typesetting those things?

G Shrivastava said...

I was always wary of stepping into graveyards - having never attended a funeral, to me it felt like some kind of a sacriliege to the peace the dead are entitled to...
But recently I was dragged to a cemetry in Khadki, dedicated to the soldiers who died in the WW - the beauty, solemnity and dignity of the place stole my breath away...it's true isn't it, nothing levels humanity like death?

livinghigh said...

ure giving me nightmares now! ouch.. i'm a scared 13 year old again!!!!

Lorena said...

beautiful "together forever" you really are amazing. i love how you look at life. thanks for such wonderful posts.

. : A : . said...

Rahul, Anonymous Poet, Mystique - Thanks.

Lohfe - Hhmm.

Itineranting - Sorry about that. Maybe it was not exactly a graveyard.

Squared, Annie, Michael - Thanks for dropping y an your comment. Look forward to seeing you around.

mermaid - Exactly!

Paul - Thanks for your perspectives. No more thoughts for now. ;-)

irina - Interesting perspective.

Geetanjali - Yes, death is a great leveler.

livinghigh - Sorry buddy.

Lorena - My pleasure.

Ubermensch said...

delicate dealing this.
Just wondered wud it be okay if we post about other'S as such..? still mulling..
regards
ubermensch

DeeM said...

no comment would do this justice. thank you, its beautiful

Aradhita said...

Almost the same set of verses wud apply to 'life' dont you think?
There are indeed many ways of treating death, here I see you have treated it as an event which is a culmination of a process...umm interesting!

Miss A said...

A very poignant post. Beautifully written. I might link to you, would that be ok?

Arindam said...

Dude- you rock! this is some greta stuff you got here!

Loved the snapshots in between the words - beautiful touch. striking!

iamnasra said...

Lend me your brain so I can write like you
Amazing ideas all the time...I sit here and think how could you thought of that and I seem to repeat myself...

. : A : . said...

Ubermensch - Thanks for your thoughts. Am not sure if I have the answer.

DeeM, Avik - My pleasure.

Aradhita - Yes, they possibly could. And death is certain, hence the culmination.

Anne - Of course you can. Thanks.

Melchizedek - Thanks a lot. Do drop by again.

iamnasra - Thank you for your beautiful words.

jenn see - Thanks.

. : A : . said...

finnegan - Thanks. It is an honour.

. : A : . said...

Ramchi - Thanks for the highest compliment in your dictionary! ;-)

Sudarshan - Yes it is.