Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago, 

   In a kingdom by the sea, 

That a maiden there lived whom you may know 

   By the name of Annabel Lee; 

And this maiden she lived with no other thought 

   Than to love and be loved by me. 

I was a child and she was a child, 

   In this kingdom by the sea, 

But we loved with a love that was more than love— 

   I and my Annabel Lee— 

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven 

   Coveted her and me. 

And this was the reason that, long ago, 

   In this kingdom by the sea, 

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling 

   My beautiful Annabel Lee; 

So that her highborn kinsmen came 

   And bore her away from me, 

To shut her up in a sepulchre 

   In this kingdom by the sea. 

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven, 

   Went envying her and me— 

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know, 

   In this kingdom by the sea) 

That the wind came out of the cloud by night, 

   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. 

But our love it was stronger by far than the love 

   Of those who were older than we— 

   Of many far wiser than we— 

And neither the angels in Heaven above 

   Nor the demons down under the sea 

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul 

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams 

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes 

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side 

   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, 

   In her sepulchre there by the sea— 

   In her tomb by the sounding sea.

. 

Edgar Allen Poe, 1849

This Is How I Want To Be Dead

Beyond the familiar “green burial” business of escaping the toxic culture of the conventional death industry, what appeals to author Richard Conniff (and a growing number of people) is the idea of using the cost of burials to buy and preserve undeveloped land. "Natural burial grounds" or "forest cemeteries" tend to look less like cemeteries and more like fields and woods, with walking trails.

"I doubt that I put it in so many words at the time, but the thought has lately come back to me: This is how I want to be dead. That is, in the woods, with wild things all around."

Op-ed in the July 7, 2017 New York Times, read it here.

Death Dinner Parties Part 2

Death Over Dinner brilliantly opens up conversations about death over dinner. Their survey helps you set up the conversation based on guests and intention and even provides recommended reading and listening before the party. 

Not only is Death Over Dinner a fantastic and effective tool for important conversations, the site is beautiful, clean, and simple. 

Go Out With a Bang!

What's your dream memorial ceremony?

Companies such as Heavens Above  and Heavenly Stars Fireworks and Ashes to Ashes provide amazing and unique memorial displays. They offer a variety of services for scattering ashes of yourself or a loved one by incorporating cremation ash into fireworks. Depending on your wishes, you can have a professionally launched display or choose from a wide array of self fired rockets. We love the idea of being sent off in style with a firework spectacular to be remembered by; literally going out with a bang.

Death Dinner Parties Part 1

Strangers coming together to talk about grief and loss over a beautiful meal... this is our kind of dinner party at Going Out in Style.

The Dinner Party takes fear and taboo out of the conversation and creates an environment that facilitates #lifeafterloss. They hope that one day young people who have experienced loss are recognized not as objects of pity, but as better listeners and better leaders, characterized by profound empathy, resilience, and agency. 

Their mission- To transform life after loss from an isolating experience into one marked by community support, candid conversation, and forward movement. 

Photograph by Sarah Cusimano Miles