Life is But a Stopping Place Poem

Funeral Poem

In times of sadness and suffering, a funeral poem can offer consolation and solace. Funeral poetry can also help individuals recollect the feelings they had while the deceased was still alive. Such poems evoke memories of times spent together, precious moments that were shared, friendship, and true love. It is indeed a wonderful way of showing respect and a tribute to a person's life.

About the poem

“Life is but a stopping place” is a beautiful poem that evokes a sense of comfort and tranquillity in times of morosity and grief. The pain of losing our near and dear ones is a rollercoaster ride without a safety belt.

There are times when we feel that the only person who could understand what we are going through has now passed away. This poem makes us understand the meaning of life by advising us to make peace with nature’s law of death. The poem is an astute comparison between the life we live and the journey we take.

About the poet

There have been no credible references as to the poet of this pristine poetic piece. Hence, we consider it as ‘anonymous.’

Life is But a Stopping Place

Life is but a stopping place,
A pause in what’s to be,
A resting place along the road,
To sweet eternity.

We all have different journeys,
Different paths along the way,
We all were meant to learn some things,
But never meant to stay...

Our destination is a place,
Far greater than we know.
For some the journey’s quicker,
For some the journey’s slow.

And when the journey finally ends,
We’ll claim a great reward,
And find an everlasting peace,
Together with the Lord

Listen and experience the visuals of this poem on YouTube

Life is a journey and it's about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are. - Kelly McGilli

Analysis of the Poem

Throughout the poem, the poet has continuously made comparisons between life and a journey. We must not lose sight of the metaphors and similes in this literary piece.

The poet clarifies in the title itself that one must be aware that life has an expiration date. We all are mortal. Rather than creating a social stigma out of death, we all must be aware of it from the very beginning to live a better tomorrow. We all feel that the deceased must have felt immense pain while leaving this world behind. The poet elucidates that death may be as peaceful as taking a siesta under a roadside tree.

The poem delivers a fair verdict on one of the most common problems of life. We all need to accept the reality that each one of us is not only pursuing a different journey but also a different destination. From time to time our paths may collide but there is no rule that we must start and stop together. The moment we accept this reality, we recover faster from the stages of grief.

Read our blog on the poem – As I sit in heaven.

“...sometimes you can feel that you've lost something... but, then at the same time you can discover you've actually found or gained something. Life's untold adventures... the adventure within & without... will often begin here... in this paradigm.”
― AshRawArt

We all have imagined or read about a ‘final destination.’ Some of us believe in heaven, others believe in dimensions, and some might not have faith in the concept of death altogether. The poet explains that the journey we have taken has an ending far beyond our scope of prediction. However, life is all about moving forward.

Despite our religious beliefs, the poet firmly affirms that we must keep moving to avoid the state of stagnancy and complacency. We must learn as much as we can and apply our knowledge for the welfare of the society in which we live.

We all start together in this world as wailing babies grabbing the onlooker’s attention. From that point onwards we all carve a different destiny through our life. Every turn we take has repercussions on our life. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose but most importantly we learn that life has intricacies beyond our comprehension.

Some people live a satisfying life, some live too long to remember their fond memories and have lost the joy of living much before being diagnosed dead, and some are unlucky because life has been snatched from them in an unexpected accident. The journey of life is never the same for all, life can be brutal and long for some people while short and comfortable for others.

“Still alive I am
At the end of a long dream
On my journey,
Fall of an autumn day.”
― Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches.

The final lines of the poem have a certain gravity beyond what is poetically visible. The conjunction ‘and’ is used to express words or ideas of similar worth and value. The poet ensures that people should not have a phobia of death. It is natural. Death is not blasphemy delivered by a higher power. The poet tells us to treat death like a reward rather than a curse. This ‘reward’ is just like finding everlasting peace with oneself and the world we once lived in. Our destination has finally arrived, and we must make peace with it.

Even though the poet has made religious references, he/she is not thrusting religious ideas through this poem. The poet is confident that we all shall be lucky enough to meet our maker once we reach our last stop (death).

Read our blog on the Dash Poem by Linda Ellis

“May be the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything, maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.” - Unknown

What should we keep in mind?

The concept of birth and death continues to surprise us; however, we should stop treating them as opposites and consider them as paths to the journey of life. We might be sinners or saints, but we are equal in the eyes of the lord.

It is not the length or span of life that matters but it is the quality of life that truly makes it all worth it in the end. It is the journey of life that counts, the experiences we share with our loved ones stay with us forever. The destination is always going to be a mystery.