Do not stand at my grave and weep

The oral culture is famous for their creation stories as well as their view on life. It seems that the stories I have read insinuate that they view life as more of a pilgrimage. Within that pilgrimage is death. Our groups presentation displayed this way of thinking within boundaries. Some could ague that by going into the boundary we faced death or traveled through death. When we all came back through the boundary we were transformed into a more enlightened being. This concept of traveling through life and treating our experiences as lessons reminds me of a poem written by Mary Frye called "Do not stand at my grave and weep"

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there, I did not die!

This poem holds the same concept of oral traditions. Instead of seeing death as an end to life, Frye sees it as a new beginning. She says over and over that death is not to be feared, but embraced. Frye says her body may be buried in a grave, but her presence is in the snow and stars and rain.