Do not stand
By my grave, and weep.
I am not there,
I do not sleep—
I am the thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints in snow
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle, autumn rain.
As you awake with morning’s hush,
I am the swift, up-flinging rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight,
I am the day transcending night.
Do not stand
By my grave, and cry—
I am not there,
I did not die

Clare Harner (1909 CE-1977 CE), Clare Harner was a little known American poet whose poem has been incorrectly attributed and quoted many times by many from other writers to movies and songs. Here we recognise the beauty and truth in her work.