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For the Touch of a Vanished Hand

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In memory of our only darling
Thomas Hill
Son of W. S. & Lizzie J. Brown
Born March 25, 1867
Died Dec 17, 1883
Aged 16 Years, 8 Months, & 22 days.
Oh! for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still.

The last lines of the inscription on young Thomas Brown's gravestone are from the poem "Break, Break, Break" by Alfred Lord Tennyson:

Break, break, break
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.

O well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts for his sister at play!
O well for the sailor lad,
that he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Break, break, break
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

Written after the death of a close friend, these lines by Tennyson evoke feelings of loss, melancholy, and nostalgia.  A perfect fit for the cemetery.

Thomas Hill Brown was laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talbotton, Georgia.


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Anonymous said…
Very good post. I definitely love this website.
Stick with it!
March 7, 2018 at 7:41 AM
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SouthernGraves.blogspot.com

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."

Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live...'" (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)