Something beautiful remains

After Aidan boarded the bus for school this morning, I went on a two mile walk around the village. It was perfect walking weather: sunny and just a bit cool. As always, I had podcasts on my iPod and for most of this morning's walk, I was listening to Cast On, episode 100. I adore Brenda Dayne's podcasts; she is warm and funny, she talks about knitting and she shares sounds and stories from Wales, where she lives.

At one point during the podcast, she was walking through the Welsh village of Laugharne where poet Dylan Thomas lived for many years, and she was narrating what she saw. She stopped in a cemetery (where Dylan Thomas is NOT buried) and read what is written on a tombstone:

The tide recedes but leaves behind bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle warmth still lingers on the land.
The music stops, and yet it echoes on in sweet refrains...
For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains.

I like it. There are those who will roll their eyes and think it is schmaltzy, but that's okay; the poem made me smile, and made me think of what has remained in my life after joy has passed.


Note: The poem was not written by Dylan Thomas and a quick Google search failed to turn up the poet's name; it is listed as unknown on the various sites where I found the text of the poem.