I obscured the names for reasons of sensitivity.
#Do not stand at my grave and weep illustration pdf
The cutting is taken from a PDF (thanks S Watkins) of the full page of the newspaper, on page 3 towards the foot of the second column. This private memorial item appeared in the Portsmouth Herald newspaper, New Hampshire USA, on 10 April 1968. To the right, is the next-oldest published version of the poem (that I am aware of). If you have anything earlier than 1938 please send it. If you had not yet realised, this is not a simple matter. The poem in the memorial document is not titled, which is consistent with many other 'official' and historical renderings of the poem, but it contains only eleven lines, not twelve, omitting the line "I am the soft stars that shine at night," (or similar equivalent) which appears in many other 'official' versions, including the famous 'Schwarzkopf printed card version', and the Portsmouth Herald version below.Īs you will see below Mary Frye asserted that her original poem contained fourteen lines. The document is nevertheless highly significant, being the earliest (that I am aware of) published version of the poem Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep. There is no attribution of authorship in the United Spanish War Veterans memorial service document. See the common versions of the Do not Stand at My grave and Weep poem. The text contains a few slight variations compared with the other versions featured in this article. The extract right is taken from (page 62) of a memorial service document for the United Spanish War Veterans service held at Portland USA, on 11 September 1938 (the '40th Encampment') published by the US Congress in early 1939. I am grateful to P Smith for sending it to me and also for helping me with related information (end 2012-early 2013). To the right is the earliest evidence of the poem's existence that I have seen. If you can help or have similar sightings/recollections please tell me. A number of people have contacted me with their recollections of having seen the poem on very old tombstones (perhaps even dated before 1932, notably and most specifically in Texarkana Texas and Provincetown, Massachusetts) but despite my best efforts to research this (from the UK) I have as yet been unable to substantiate these sightings. I am especially keen to know of any sightings (especially photographic evidence) of the poem on old gravestones/tombstones. However, many different variations of the poem can now be found, and many different claims of authorship have been made, and continue to be made. The best evidence and research ( summarised below) indicates that Mary Frye is the author of the earliest version, and that she wrote it in 1932. Debate surrounds the definitive and original wording of this remarkable verse, and for many the authorship is unresolved too. While generally now attributed to Mary Frye, the hugely popular bereavement poem 'Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep' (often shown as 'Don't Stand at My Grave and Weep) has uncertain history and origins. Do not stand at my grave and weep Mary Frye's (attributed) famous inspirational poem, prayer, and bereavement verse