Full text:
Don't stand at my grave and cry.
Please don't stand at my grave and cry.
I'm not there, I don't sleep.
I wasn't there. I didn't sleep.
I am a thousand whistling winds.
I am the wind that stirs up, and I am inextricably linked.
I am a diamond shining in the snow.
I am a diamond in the snow, shining.
I am the sunshine on the ripe grain.
I am warm sunshine, close to rice.
I am gentle autumn rain
I am a drizzle in autumn, gentle and soft.
When you wake up in the silent morning
When you wake up in the quiet of the morning
I am the fast-rising elevator peak.
I am free from high passion.
Quiet birds fly in circles.
In the quiet hovering of birds.
I am a soft star shining at night.
All I have is to release the gentle and bright stars.
Don't stand at my grave and cry.
Please don't cry at my grave,
I wasn't there. I didn't die.
I wasn't there. I didn't leave.
Extended data:
Background: Mary Elizabeth Frye wrote this poem in 1932, when she was a housewife living in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Frye wrote this poem inspired by German Jewish woman Margaret schwarzkopf. Margaret schwarzkopf's mother was ill in Germany at that time, but she couldn't go back to Germany because of the serious anti-Semitic atmosphere there.
In the end, even if her mother died, she couldn't go back. Margaret schwarzkopf was heartbroken and told Frye that she didn't even have a chance to "stand at her mother's grave and cry". So Frye wrote this poem on the shopping bag. She later said that these words were "spoken naturally" and expressed her feelings about life and death.
This poem has never been published. 1995, a British soldier was killed in a bomb attack in Northern Ireland. I found this poem when I was sorting out his belongings. His father read the poem aloud on a radio program in England, which caused great repercussions. Therefore, it is often recited at funerals or memorial services to commemorate foreign wars.