The book Cemetery Reflections distills Jane Hopkins’ 12 year exploration of cemetery art and literature through photography and historic poetry & prose, producing a sensitive look at cemeteries as a place of solace and remembrance.
Walk with me through the cemeteries of history. Notice the tombstones that honor the dead and provide a place of remembrance for the living. Reflect on the art of the carving and the mystery of death it symbolizes. Think about the marvelous tapestry of life that binds us all together.
“Come with me to the Garden, that sacred spot of earth, where ne'er is heard the airy song, nor the wanton sound of mirth.
There sleep the Widow and Fatherless deep beneath the sod, and there the bud of innocence beside ‘the man of God.’
And there is the grave of beauty, the form that was once divine; there grows the weeping willow, and the yew-tree shades the shrine.
There is the bed of the Lover, the cold sod wraps his head; his bower of bliss is changed, and all its gay hopes fled.
And there too sleeps the Tyrant, despoiled of earthly power; his robes of state and grandeur, the worms of earth devour.
But around that lonely garden, the Spring of Time yet blooms; and fair, though fading blossoms exhale their rich perfumes.
Then come with me to the garden, where the race of mortals lie like seed that's buried in the earth, to grow above the sky.”
“The Garden of the Graves,” in Daniel Davenport, The Sexton’s Monitor, 1845