Her obituary in The Times made it clear that she was the undisputed author this famous poem, which has been recited at funerals and on other appropriate occasions around the world for seventy years.Ī 1996 Bookworm poll named it the Nation’s Favourite Poem” She wrote other poems, but this, her first, endured.
Because she never published or copyrighted it, there is no definitive version. When her mother died, she told Mary Frye she had not had the chance to stand by her mother’s grave and weep. The rise of Anti-Semitism had made it unwise for her to join her mother. Her Jewish roommates mother had fallen ill and passed away in Germany, and her roommate was distraught over being unable to go back and be there for her/mourn at her grave due to the rising unrest in Germany at the time. Margaret Schwarzkopf had been worrying about her mother, who was ill in Germany. This was the first poem Mary Elizabeth Frye ever wrote, and she wrote it on a grocery bag. She wrote it down on a brown paper shopping bag. She had never written any poetry, but the plight of a German Jewish girl, Margaret Schwarzkopf,who was staying with her and her husband, inspired the poem. Mary Frye, who was living in Baltimore at the time, wrote the poem in 1932. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in. I took his hand when I heard his call, I am a thousand winds that blow. Mary Elizabeth Frye nee Clark was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 13th 1905. By Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. The speaker is someone who has passed away and is leaving this message to her dear ones. Mary Elizabeth Frye begins the poem with these two lines, which define the meaning of the poem. The following was taken from The London Magazine December / January 2005: &0183 &32 Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Summary: Line by Line Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there I do not sleep. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Unknown. The most widely circulated author is Mary Fry. Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Summary and Study Guide. Do not stand at my grave and forever weep.ĭo not stand at my grave and forever cry.