L is for Love.

photo by Erica Mazzeo


L is for Love.

After conveniently getting locked into the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery this past Saturday, I was able to respectfully take photographs of the historic site.  With tulips blossoming and the nearby falls emptying into a stream that cut through the woods, I felt totally at home.
I've always had a strange fascination with cemeteries.  I remember driving past them in middle school and people urging me to hold my breath to ensure that no spirits were clinging too closely to my collar.  "You don't want to take them home with you" the kids shouted on the bus, but over time I disposed of this superstition and found cemeteries to be more peaceful than anything.  I don't even believe that a cemetery is where the dead gather - I think it's simply a beautiful memorial where the living go to pour out their own memories and appropriately grieve.
Either way I stumbled upon this tombstone that simply said L.  'L' sat on it's own near the walkway of the old cemetery.  With the likes of Washington Irving and Chrysler buried nearby, L was unnamed, unobtrusive and maybe even forgotten by now.  I know that under the land at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery there are secrets buried along with lifetimes, people's mothers, brothers, fathers, sons and daughters... people's best friends and their worst enemies are all together in the dust and the dirt.  When I really think about it, life all comes down to one simple thing - Love.
At the end of the day our loved one's are always with us, not even a breath away.
While they may not 'be' in the cemetery the emotions of those who miss them are.

The earth gently carries our memories, our tears, our laughter and pain - our spark and our sadness all mix together and seep into the rich soil only to make the flowers blossom once again.

Thank you L.  In memory of.