Poets and Writers on Death and What Lies Beyond

Mar 19, 2021

The meaning of life and death, the possibilities of what comes after. These questions have called to mankind since its infancy and their importance is undiminished by time. While what awaits us can’t be known, we can find words and ideas that resonate as true within us. With that in mind, here are some thoughts from great writers and poets on death and the journey forward.

“TO DIE, TO SLEEP –
TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM – AY, THERE’S THE RUB,
FOR IN THIS SLEEP OF DEATH WHAT DREAMS MAY COME…”
― WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, HAMLET

“IN SORROW WE MUST GO, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR. BEHOLD!
WE ARE NOT BOUND FOR EVER TO THE CIRCLES OF THE WORLD, AND BEYOND THEM IS MORE THAN MEMORY.”
― J.R.R. TOLKIEN

“SEEING DEATH AS THE END OF LIFE IS LIKE SEEING THE HORIZON AS THE END OF THE OCEAN.”
― DAVID SEARLS

“HE IS NOT DEAD
I CANNOT SAY, AND I WILL NOT SAY
THAT HE IS DEAD. HE IS JUST AWAY.
WITH A CHEERY SMILE, AND A WAVE OF THE HAND,
HE HAS WANDERED INTO AN UNKNOWN LAND
AND LEFT US DREAMING HOW VERY FAIR
IT NEEDS MUST BE, SINCE HE LINGERS THERE.
AND YOU—OH YOU, WHO THE WILDEST YEARN
FOR AN OLD-TIME STEP, AND THE GLAD RETURN,
THINK OF HIM FARING ON, AS DEAR
IN THE LOVE OF THERE AS THE LOVE OF HERE.
THINK OF HIM STILL AS THE SAME. I SAY,
HE IS NOT DEAD—HE IS JUST AWAY.”
― JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY“

JOY IS THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF HEAVEN.” — CS LEWIS

ON THE DAY I DIE, WHEN I’M BEING CARRIED
TOWARD THE GRAVE, DON’T WEEP. DON’T SAY,
HE’S GONE! HE’S GONE. DEATH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GOING AWAY.
THE SUN SETS AND THE MOON SETS, BUT THEY’RE NOT GONE. ~ RUMI

“ALL GOES ONWARD AND OUTWARD, NOTHING COLLAPSES,
AND TO DIE IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT ANY ONE SUPPOSED, AND LUCKIER.”
― WALT WHITMAN

DEATH IS NOT THE END.
DEATH CAN NEVER BE THE END.
DEATH IS THE ROAD.
LIFE IS THE TRAVELLER.
THE SOUL IS THE GUIDE..
OUR MIND THINKS OF DEATH.
OUR HEART THINKS OF LIFE
OUR SOUL THINKS OF IMMORTALITY ~ SRI CHINMOY

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Poets and Writers on Death and What Lies Beyond

(Featured photo: Vo Danh)

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