Cemetery Walks

     Traveling to Massachusetts, some visitors may opt to visit the city of Boston. Others may visit Fenway Park or opt for a museum. But through my own travels there, I ended up in the middle of some of its cemeteries. 

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord MA

    Starting with Sleepy Hollow Cemetery- no, not that one- of Concord, MA, there are a number of famous residents that rest under the moss. These include famous authors that have their own section of the cemetery known as "Author's Ridge." Up a steep hill, you will find Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne, buried paces away from Louisa May Alcott, as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

    Visitors leave anything from pencils to flowers, to poems and handwritten notes to these famous and influential authors. There were so many roses and tulips and different writing utensils and letters all over their graves. It was very touching to see so many memorials for these authors. 

    The rest of the cemetery was calm, and serene. So many horror films depict graveyards as places of terror and fear. Yet here, the moss looked so soft and vibrant that I wanted to pull a blanket of it over myself and take a nap. 

    The cemetery sprawled for over thirty acres and was different from other cemeteries in the sense that it was not flat. Instead, it was built on varying hills and there were different levels of elevation that added a certain beauty to it. Many of the graves were between trees rather than a stark landscape.

First Parish Burying Ground 

    The next graveyard came up the coast. This was one of the earliest were those who lived in Rockport had been buried. The cemetery sat right across from the ocean and many of the stones were speckled with unique mossy patterns. The stones were over a hundred years old, maybe more. 

    Something else that is interesting to try is noting some of the older names you might see. I found names like Winthrop and Atticus, as well as Perdita and Deirdre. The stones also had intricate carvings on the ones that were not completely faded. These included a hand pointing straight up (pictured), as well as a few with skulls carved in. The contrast between the white stones and the yellow-orange moss actually looked quite beautiful. And then to have it all framed by the ocean in the background made all of it stand out even more. 

Why Walk Through Cemeteries? 

    As I said, there are so many depictions of cemeteries that can be frightening. But really, they're just a place to rest. I often try exploring a few and honestly, you find something new and unique every time. It's a place where you have to take time to stop and be quiet. Which already is contrary to our chaotic day to day. I like to try and find new names, new stories, and you can actually learn a bit of history too. Sometimes it might feel strange at first to walk through, but you might find that it's really peaceful in the long run.