Monday, October 19, 2009

First Person Gravestone

No, I don't mean that the epitaph speaks in the voice of the deceased. In this case, the gravestone itself speaks in the first person:


Rachel Cotton
d. 1808
Plymouth, MA

I
am erected
by
Josiah Cotton Esqr
in remembrance
of Rachel
his pious and Virtuous
Wife,
who died Januy 17th 1808
aged 50 years.

In belief of Christianity I lived,
In hope of a glorious Resurrection I died.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So did the tombstone live and die in belief of Christianity or the wife, or was it Josiah. At some point the I changed meaning.

Caitlin GD Hopkins said...

I hadn't read it that way, but now that you mention it, I can't stop imagining the gravestone waddling into church, singing hymns, etc.