Reflections

The newness of lush green grass encroaching on the painted chipped cement reminded me how a little newness can make a something worn be beautiful.

Considering most epitaphs highlight attributes of the deceased to honor their life the following epitaph made me stop and pause:

“When you go home
Tell them of us
and say
For your tomorrow
We gave our today”

I stood thinking about the message for a long time until I realized the context of the word “home” can radically change the meaning of the message. If you consider home as the place where you’ll spend eternity then this message makes absolutely no sense. On the other hand if you consider home as the place where you lay your head to sleep or where your heart is then this message makes perfect sense.

The inscription is on a Westwood Cemetery headstone and was probably taken from the cemetery in Kohima. Next time I walk by I’ll have to look at the dates.