| Commentary and Philosophy Poetry posted January 12, 2009 | Chapters: |
...7 8 -9- 10 
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A sonnet inspired by a 1785 gravestone
A chapter in the book Sonnets
Mary Harvey and Child Gravestone
by adewpearl
Contest Winner
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The stone they share for all eternity Refuses all pretense of sweet repose. Its carving cries of death's finality With image not of poetry but prose. No tree of life or sunbursts symbolize A passage of their souls to lasting peace. The coffin stark in which the mother lies Is pictured with no hope for death's release. Beside her in this portrait on their grave Her stillborn child lies stiffly in her arm. No crowing cock or angels sent to save, Not one thing to suggest surcease of harm. I can't begin to fathom husband's grief That stripped him in that moment of belief. |
Contest Winner |
 Recognized |
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The Mary Harvey and child slate gravestone, dated 1785, sits in a Deerfield, Massachusetts cemetery. The inscription reads: "In Memory of Mary the Wife of Simeon Harvey who departed this Life December 20th 1785 in 39th year of Her age on her left Arm lieth the Infant which was Still Born."
Unlike many graves of the same time, there are no symbols to adorn this stone that soften the image of death. The symbols mentioned in the sonnet: the tree of life, angels, the crowing cock and sunbursts were among those frequently used to depict the promise of Heaven and resurrection. This slate stone has only a carving of an unadorned coffin, lying horizontal, containing a primitively drawn woman and baby. One has to wonder what her grieving husband felt as he lost his wife and stillborn child five days before Christmas.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Unlike many graves of the same time, there are no symbols to adorn this stone that soften the image of death. The symbols mentioned in the sonnet: the tree of life, angels, the crowing cock and sunbursts were among those frequently used to depict the promise of Heaven and resurrection. This slate stone has only a carving of an unadorned coffin, lying horizontal, containing a primitively drawn woman and baby. One has to wonder what her grieving husband felt as he lost his wife and stillborn child five days before Christmas.
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