The sound of a voice that is still

The zinc obelisk marking the grave of Samuel McGill (d. 1886) is a treasure trove of epitaphs, with one on nearly every face. I recorded three before the wind chill got the better of me.

SAMUEL McGILL,
DIED
JUNE 16, 1886,
AGED
74 YRS, 2 MOS, 10 DYS.

THERE IS REST IN HEAVEN.

I LOVE THEM
THAT
LOVE ME. AND
THEY THAT SEEK
ME EARLY
SHALL FIND ME.

OH! FOR THE
TOUCH
OF A VANISHED HAND,
AND THE SOUND
OF A VOICE
THAT IS STILL.

There is a reason that the third epitaph sounds especially poetic: Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote the lines for his poem “Break, Break, Break,” expressing his grief at the loss of his best friend.

Newhouse Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio