avatarKim McKinney

Summary

The website content reflects on the cultural and personal significance of cemetery flowers, questioning whether they are a gesture of love or guilt, and suggesting that perhaps flowers should be given to the living instead.

Abstract

The article "Cemetery Flowers" by Kim McKinney delves into the symbolism and emotional weight carried by flowers placed on graves. McKinney observes various cemeteries in her town, noting the absence of flowers in older graveyards and their abundance in newer ones. She ponders whether these flowers are a continuation of a tradition that honors the dead or if they are a display of guilt or obligation by the living. The author admits to mixed feelings about the practice, appreciating the beauty flowers bring to these spaces while questioning if the sentiment wouldn't be better directed towards the living, such as by feeding the hungry or celebrating life. The piece also touches on the communal aspects of cemeteries, their role in preserving history, and the personal connections people have with those buried there.

Opinions

  • The author has mixed feelings about cemetery flowers, valuing their aesthetic contribution but questioning their purpose.
  • McKinney suggests that the dead might prefer acts of kindness or celebration in their memory rather than flowers on their graves.
  • She notes that the presence of flowers in cemeteries can be influenced by tradition, guilt, or a desire for public display.
  • The article implies that the act of adorning graves with flowers is as much for the living as it is for the dead.
  • The author feels that the beauty of

Floral week

Cemetery Flowers

What story do they tell?

Photo by Author, Kim McKinney

Cemetery flowers, Scattered among the gravestones, Celebrating lives, Of those who were loved.

Did they give you flowers when alive, To celebrate great days and bad, And bring you bouquets, Just because they loved you?

Or are these flowers of guilt or tradition, Bought for public view, So others fail to remember They gave you little when you lived?

I have mixed feelings about cemetery flowers. I love the pops of color they give to cemeteries, but sometimes I wonder if perhaps they should instead be given to the living.

As I look at a few cemeteries in my town, the differences in adornment grab my attention.

One cemetery, with graves older than the others, had no flowers. They did have a few decorations of red, white, and blue for Independence Day.

Still, this place is enclosed by an old rock wall and gates, and I have always felt great peace there. While no flowers, the mature trees in that space give it shade and seem to whisper words of comfort.

The cemetery where I took the photo above is brighter and has flowers everywhere. It’s a newer cemetery, in the center of our town, near the park where I played as a girl.

Walking around, I see the graves of the infant daughter of schoolmates of mine, graves of friends and family, and names of prominent families in our community.

Still another cemetery was in a poorer community. It is a neighborhood cemetery, but the care for the graves is evident. It’s part of the neighborhood, and used almost like a park. I also see names there I know, people with whom I went to school and their families.

I suspect the dead don’t appreciate cemetery flowers much and would prefer their loved ones remembered them with flowers in their own homes or with food that is given to the town’s hungry or a special treat provided for their family or friends that makes them celebrate their life. At least, that is how I would prefer to be remembered.

But yet I also know that many cemetery flowers are love notes to the departed, in keeping with tradition the only way they know. There is something beautiful in that gesture, too. Even when they are plastic.

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