WRITE YOUR OWN EPITAPH

[Violet]

Okay, as per my comment on that seashell thread...

NEW CONTEST -- no, not really a contest... but, what I think would be nice is a comprehensive collection of sayings we would either write or choose to have on our gravestones. I think this is actually a wonderful way for us to really get to know each other better. I'll start:

"IT'S ALL BEEN A TERRIBLE MISUNDERSTANDING...

Sweet Violet buried here the [blank ]day of [blank], [blank blank blankety blank]"

[Violet]

Okay, and just to get things rolling here, as per the material below, here's Kris Kristofferson's epitaph:



"Like a bird on a wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." (L.C.)

"Kris Kristofferson, having died solely for the sake of immortalizing this, well, dirge, lies here."



[Re: Seashell
by Violet on Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:29 pm

The following comment by me is in response to Lord Michael's random rhyming example: "what an awful dirge- answer "that awful Bird on the Wire must be purged"]... (Violet): I know it was just a random rhyming example, but I still have to defend Bird on a Wire, my lord. A dirge? perhaps... but then it might well be made the anthem of the International Gravediggers Union, if there is such a thing, and there's nothing wrong in that... besides, isn't Kris Kristofferson going to put the first four lines of that song on his gravestone?... WHICH GIVES ME AN IDEA... check for a new thread on this... v.] [note to the confused: THIS IS THAT THREAD...]

[Actually, I just wanted to add a kind of disclaimer here for Leonard Cohen's eyes only (so don't look at this if you're not him): Leonard, I honestly don't think Bird on a Wire a dirge. Not in the least. That Lord M. should think so is a puzzle, but here at the (turning) Ugly Losers L.C. poetry circuit Forum (so called), ours is not to question why, but to accept, well, certain edicts passed down from on High, as it were... You, Leonard, having dealt with such "trickle down" power structuring in the music industry (nice touch, the gun, I thought, with that evil Specter sphincter dude -- geez)... Anyhoo, just letting you know, as is true of all of the, well, more decadent goings on around here -- my hands are tied... Sincerely, V. [Violet's last name] [as per L. Cohen's signage at the end of, well, another of his songs (you know which one), which Lord M. may or may not think is dirge like...]

[...oh, I'd massacred K.K.'s name before, and thought it should be corrected -- I mean, it is his epitaph, after all...] [God, I just found another K.K. error... sorry Kris, R.I.P.]

[Violet]

... okay, I'm really really procrastinating today... but here's another one, hopefully this will give you some inspiration for your own last sentiment... v.


"SOMETIMES A GRAVESTONE IS JUST A GRAVESTONE"

"Sigmund Freud, never ambivalent about stating the obvious, lies here."



[I would add that Freud felt if he didn't have such an epitaph then visitors to his grave site might feel compelled to, well, you know, jerk off...]

[mickey_one]

good game! I will think about this tomorrow when I am in court surrounded by death.

meantime, as you're such a newbie you may not know that I recited my poem of disdain for that song to Leonard himself and he did a good job of enjoying it. the photographic proof seems to have disappeared from the LC files but if I find it I will post it.

[Manna]

Michael, I think your gravestone should read, "At long last, I am surrounded by dead people."

Mine, however, will read:

"Ha! 'fountain of youth' they said. Well, I sure showed them."

[Cate]

Dying is a cliché, hardly anybody is original about it, my epitaph can be a cliché well.

........ Daughter, Mother, Wife, Friend
........... She loved and was loved

There, that's my life in 9 words - nothing beyond that matters.

--------------------------------------------------------

May you bless the union of your mother and father
May you discard easily the husks of my thought
May you stand on my dead body

from - Death of a Lady's Man
Leonard Cohen

[Violet]

First, thanks Cate for that L.C. quote...

... secondly, it's occurred to me that my choice of epitaph will depend on the mood I'm in when I, uh, croak. (I guess I'll have to leave instructions.) Here's another crack at it:


"NOT NOW"


...oh, this must mean there are no limits on how many epitaphs you can write for yourself (or for others)...

To my Lord and Councillor, I look forward to your epitaph (strange to say), and would love to see that Cohen (mis)adventure if it ever turns up!... (speaking of this Bird business... I believe I now have the kryptonite I'd been seeking)... v.

[Violet]

Okay, I know it's early yet, and it probably takes a while to come up with so significant a piece of verbiage, but common, guys, you should be DYING to write your epitaphs!!

Oh, I found this on a bottle top today, and thought I'd make it official as my honorary epitaph for the man:


"The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with. (M.F.)"

"Marty Feldman (having died solely for the purpose of edifying us all with this significant piece of writer's lore) lies here."


You know, this death thing really has possibilities I think. For example, why not use this opportunity to come up with the play list for your funeral. I mean, that's pretty significant as well. And doing it here you would always know where to find it once, well, you know. Of course, I'm assuming you'd still be in charge once you're, well, dead, but these are minor details... Anyway, I'd say it's obvious that a selection of Cohen numbers would be in order for most of us... Lord Mickey of One, for example, would no doubt have the Bird tune number one on his top ten death-songs list -- bah dum bum (oh, I'm now inserting cheap drum effects) (in case you miss the funny bits)... Come to think of it, since he feels it's a dirge, he may as well have it be a dirge... you know, along with a nice funeral procession along the Thames, perhaps, assuming there are some nice byways there... I can just hear it playing now...

...like a bird... on a wire... like a drunk in a midnight choir...

Just dreamy, don't you think?

Okay, well, there's still the weekend... I'm sure that's when most of you would like to lay around thinking about death 'n all, and so you'd no doubt come up with some memorable epitaphs... Remember, you can always edit them later... 'course if you die in the meantime, but let's not consider such things. It's almost Friday, after all...

All I ask is that you not let this be another thread where I do all the talking... hmmm, is that another epitaph?...

resting in peace,

Violet


[Yes, I did do one edit since I posted below (along with my writing this piece of verbiage)... Of course, Manna will forever be on my mind when it comes to grammatical correctness (let's just say she adds a little extra stress to an already self imposed stress situation)... speaking of, I do think mention of this seminal grammatical Manna aspect really needs to be added to her epitaph... v.] [... you guessed it, I just did an additional edit to this piece of verbiage now -- gosh, Manna, I really think you need to give it a rest already -- hey is that another epitaph?]

[Violet]

"All I ask is that you not let this be another thread where I do all the talking."

R.I.P.V.I.O.L.E.T.

[imaginary friend]

I have a few thoughts for my epitaph Ms. V, but meanwhile, here are a couple from an old graveyard in Key West, FL. (Saw 'em with my own eyes)

'Here lies Paul Smith*
beloved husband of Laura Smith*
At least I know where he's sleeping tonight'

and another –

'I told you I was sick'

* can't remember what the real names were

[Violet]

Hi Imaginary Friend,

I LOVE these! Thank you so much... You know, I was going to save this for later, but I think I'll post the epitaph that's on my father's gravestone (yes, my real Dad, folks). I think it might clarify or further mystify a few things where I'm concerned:


"THE HOPEFUL MAVERICK"

"[Violet's] Dear Old Dad, may he rest in peace."


I added the "subheading," as it were, that part's not authentic, although he often referred to himself as "dear old dad"... God, I just made myself all sad and nostalgic... I guess that's the bittersweet aspect of doing such a thread...

night all (night Dad),

Godspeed and be well,

Violet

[imaginary friend]

FIEND TO SOME,

FRIEND TO MANY,

IMAGINARY FRIEND

HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

...OR HAS SHE?

[abby]

I think it was in the Sun magazine a few years ago I saw a photograph of a man leaning on his not yet needed tombstone and it read, "I just came here to laugh." In the classes I'm taking now I've had a couple of opportunities to play with how I might like to be remembered and what kind of memorial service would please me, but nobody's asked yet about epitaphs. When I wrote how I'd like to be remembered, it came out as, "She loved and laughed deeply," and though I can laugh with the best of them, I think I was thinking that by the time I die I will have gotten better at loving. I'd like my epitaph to read the same, but only if it's true. If I never get any better at loving, I'd like my epitaph to read, "It is still a beautiful world."

Abby

[imaginary friend]

Oh Abby,

You made me tear up with that.

[Minna]

.