Today I buried my parents. They died quite a number of years ago, and since then I have been moving the urns with their ashes around my property, finally settling them next to a pine in a corner of my garden, side by side, just as they slept for over 50 years. But the future has reached out to me, and it has become time to put them behind me, to let go of this particular remnant of their presence.
Yesterday a friend offered to let me bury them on her property.
Today I buried them in the countryside. I offered incense and wished them peace. Kayla offered this prayer for each of them in turn.
In the silence
Hear me
Hear the wind
In the sway of the trees
In the silence
Smell me
Blowing in the wind
The scent of the forest in the air
In the silence
Feel me
As your feet stand my ground
We are connected as one
Be still in the silence
Our friend had used a backhoe to dig the common grave, and I took a shovel to fill it in. It is rare that a son gets to do this work, and it was satisfying. I visualized their spirits settling into this spot in the valley, surrounded by barns, cottonwood trees, fields and, in the immediate distance, pine covered mountains. Elk, deer and bear pass through this place. Few of us can be sure where our ashes will come to rest, and neither Mom or Dad could have imagined coming to rest here. But really, they are fortunate to have such a fine vista.
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