Resistance

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N o n c o n f o r m i s t

Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church Cemetery

Rutherford College, North Carolina

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Southerners can never resist a losing cause.

~Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949)~

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From the rock as if by magic grown

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O l d   B l u e   E y e s

Alwyn Court :: Petrossian

New York City

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It seems no work of man's creative hand,

By labour wrought as wavering fancy plann'd,

But from the rock as if by magic grown,

Eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!

Not virgin-white like the old Doric shrine

Where erst Athena held her rites divine;

Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,

That crowns the hill, and consecrates the plain;

But rosy-red as if the blush of dawn

That first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;

The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,

Which man deemed old two thousand years ago.

Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,

A rose-red city half as old as Time.

~John William Burgon (1813-1888)~

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Where now this night is day

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C r o s s i n g

Rose Hill Cemetery

York, South Carolina

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With all my will, but much against my heart,

We two now part.

My Very Dear,

Our solace is, the sad road lies so clear.

It needs no art,

With faint, averted feet

And many a tear,

In our opposed paths to persevere.

Go thou to East, I West.

We will not say

There's any hope, it is so far away.

But, O, my Best,

When the one darling of our widowhead,

The nursling Grief,

Is dead,

And no dews blur our eyes

To see the peach-bloom come in evening skies,

Perchance we may,

Where now this night is day,

And even through faith of still averted feet,

Making full circle of our banishment,

Amazed meet;

The bitter journey to the bourne so sweet

Seasoning the termless feast of our content

With tears of recognition never dry.

~Coventry Patmore (1823-1896)~

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An echo of her singing

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B a r e l y   T h e r e

Heritage Park

McDonough, Georgia

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No man has set his foot on any land

But beauty's steps have long preceded him,

Nor climbed a mountain but her steady hand

Has spread a cloud upon its highest rim.

There is no burning desert man has taken

Seeking the bones of men who have gone before,

But to some far oasis his eyes awaken

Discovering her earlier signature.

Always a man must follow, like sparrows' winging,

The wild, clear winds of beauty down the earth,

Find his own song an echo of her singing,

His laughter but a pattern of her mirth --

Find even upon the lips of love each day

The light of dawn that he must kiss away.

~Daniel Whitehead Hicky (1900-1976)~

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While we can

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T w o   Q u e s t i o n s

Abernethy Memorial United Methodist Church Cemetery

Rutherford College, North Carolina

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We live and we die

Like fireworks

Our legacies hide

In the embers

May our stories catch fire

And burn bright enough

To catch God's eye

We live and we die

Like fireworks

We pull apart the dark

Compete against the stars

With all of our hearts

Till our temporary brilliance turns to ash

We pull apart the darkness while we can

May we live and we die

A valorous life

May we write it all down

In cursive light

So we pray we were made

In the image of a figure eight

May we live and we die

Like fireworks

We pull apart the dark

Compete against the stars

With all of our hearts

Till our temporary brilliance turns to ash

We pull apart the darkness while we can

~Ryan O'Neal~

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