"Heigh-ho, the carrion crow,
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle;
Heigh-ho, the carrion crow,
Bow and bend to me." —The Grateful Dead


And why not Death as the Maiden? If you're looking at this manip and wondering whether to see it as positive or negative, as portraying good or evil, then the piece is doing its job. It's a great mystery, death. It's a study in contradiction, a beginning and an end. The Bible calls death "the wages of sin" and "the last enemy to be conquered." At the same time, it tells us that death is nothing to be feared, and that like all things, it serves God's purpose. The same is true for those who believe in reincarnation: they know they are returning to their Source, and will come back again, yet they mourn their friends as much as anybody, and I'm sure they shudder in the face of the accident that almost happens, or the grave illness that just passed. When my time comes, and the Angel Peter Gabriel blows his horn and says, "Grab your things; I've come to take you home," may I find the grace to say, as St. Francis did, "Welcome, Sister Death!"

Credits:

Model: Many thanks for the great shot, and I hope I did you justice.

The background and the bird are mine.