The Fields of Grass.......and stone.....

National Cemetery in Elmira, New York

Fields of Grass & Stone

Cold steel brought me here,

Among my fellow soldiers

And their loved ones tears.

How simple and yet so cold,

Long white lines, markers bold

Soldiers buried young and old.

Honor is a fleeting thing,

Thought as gold in life’s small ring,

Never giving thought to death,

Now I lay with all the rest.

The Shakers..Niskayuna - their home still a vision of the simple life!

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Waterveliet Shaker Village (Niskayuna)

Mother Ann Lee came here to find a new home for her "people".  The Shakers would indeed succeed and make many homes throughout the United States.

Ann is buried here and so are many of her followers, though each cemetery marker is the same.... and unless you read each stone you cannot find hers.

How simple and yet how fitting for those who treasured a simple life.  A life minus lust & temtations, simple and honest ...a life lived as a Gift to God!

Today we remember her and her followers....and perhaps today we need this simple lifestyle to come back and save the world from itself!