Graveyards of the South. Hauntings of my Soul.

This may not be as cool as you think it is going to be, or it could totally exceed all expectations.  How's that for vague. 

Mrs. Cathryn and I were in New Orleans two years ago, and visited one of the above ground graveyards (you see, you don't bury people in the swamp... successfully). 

This was one of the few places that you could really see the damage from Katrina, and it was one of my favorites. 

I hadn't posted my photos until now.  I wasn't ready.

It was haunting.

The wording of the stones:

Simple.

Formal.

Full of the kind of grief that can never quite be explained in words. only in looks, and gentle touches.

There was so much to see; with the eyes, the heart, the head...


So much sorrow.

So many memories.

Beautiful celebrations.

Broken hearts.

Spirits everywhere.

To be moved, and yet not know he who moves you.

 

To give life where life comes to rest.

To remember.

To reunite.

To breathe.

To begin to understand one's own mortality.

It was a place of honesty.  of truths revealed.

secrets shared.  tales untold.

mysteries.



The spirits will shake you to your core.  The material will matter less.  The urge to hold you love ones tighter will burst from your belly, and leave you rattled and disturbed.  You'll need two phone calls home tonight.   To check.  To exhale.  To know.

You'll leave here a little fuller.

You'll appreciate the beauty - where none previously was seen.

You'll reflect.

You'll remember.

Here's to the people of New Orleans.  May your light forever shine.

Andrea