The Noise of Memory

Down in the wild woods where memories shout.

​Mourning is
the noise of
memory
that follows the
quiet liberation
of death.


How removed we are from death now, how sterile and unseen it has become. My entire fear of death was built on a foundation of having experienced it too little. I feared that the burst of noise that is our lives, once silenced by death, would have no echo. But having experienced her death, having stood at the side of her bed in the middle of the night as she gave one last breath for each of us present, I can tell you that this is what death is like: motionless, hushed, the sound of a candle being extinguished. And then: the cacophony of memories that follows, a cacophony that is both torture and ecstasy. The noise of these memories is what makes you wail and shake and hold your head in your hands. Mourning is the noise of memory that follows the quiet liberation of death.

From Memento Mori

I’ve read through this article, Memento Mori several times and still I come back again. Why? The clue is in the title, Memento Mori – Remember you must die. I’ll say no more. This takes one deeply.

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3 thoughts on “The Noise of Memory”

  1. “The wise bunny knows death is not the end of light, it is simply putting out a lamp because dawn has come”
    Posted by @tinybuddha on Twitter (I think) but it may have been someone else!

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