I Do Not Sleep

Keyesville, California

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.

                              --Author unknown

The town of Keyesville can be found in the southern Sierra Nevada, perched on the hills above the town of Lake Isabella. At the time of my visit in 1993, a handful of buildings, some occupied, were visible from the road but were posted against trespassing. At the cemetery on a nearby ridge, however, there is no one to prevent you from wandering among the graves, contemplating at your leisure.

As Philip Varney writes in his book Southern California's Best Ghost Towns: A Practical Guide, "Tombstones in cemeteries often pose more questions than they answer, but occasionally the stories are painfully clear. Here you will see the grave of the son of William and Frances Lightner, who lived for only three days in 1872. Next to him is his sister, who survived for three weeks in 1875. Then there is a double grave: the Lightners' son, who lived for seventeen days in 1876, and Frances Lightner herself, who died six days after giving birth to him."