Maija

Today was the funeral of our friend Maija. It was a beautiful celebration.  Maija was Finnish and a lovely Finnish tradition was incorporated in the ceremony, whereby individuals, or groups, place a single flower on the coffin and say a few words, a sentence. It was very moving. Music that had been composed for her, was played by the composer - a professional fiddler who was also a friend, and a poem was read in Finnish and English. 

From a poem by Eeva Kilpi - translated by Donald Adamson

When you miss me
Look at a flower,
Any flower, the nearest,
A bluebell, a daisy, a bedstraw,
A little tiny twinkling by the roadside.
I'll be in that one and I'll smile,
I'll look in your eyes and comfort you.
Let's not grieve too much.
Let's be in reasonably good mood.
Let's live the moment as we can
as it comes to us.
That's all anyone can do in life,
Except that we can make others happy.
We can leave the tree standing.
We can refuse to kill
Or to hit people.
We can't help being sad now and then.