THE WALL OF FACES

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

I was thirteen and you tried to teach me to sail down at the lake when I visited from Florida. I'm sure you had better things to do than spend time with a kid you had never met before. Still, fifty years later, I've never forgotten that day. You are the best.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56631dd1e4b0d248fad7cfef/t/58d51d92be65943dee02f982/1490361770800/The%2Bgrieving.pdf

https://bcm.bc.edu/index.html%3Fp=2893.html

Boston College Magazine, 2014

First Lieutenant John Francis Fitzgibbons, Served with Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, United States Army Vietnam.