“May the earth be light to you”: it is not uncommon to encounter this expression when reading thoughts and tributes for a departed person, even on social media, where we have become accustomed to encountering photographs with descriptions to remember those who are no longer with us.
But exactly where does this saying come from and what does it mean?
The origin and meaning of the expression “May the earth be light to you.”
This locution has very ancient origins, in fact “May the earth be light to you” comes from the Latin phrase “ Sit tibi terra levis ” and was initially used by pagans. It is not uncommon to find it engraved on Latin or Greek funerary monuments as a thoughtful reverence for the deceased. Precisely because of the sphere from which it arises, the origin of the locution has to do with the image to which the words themselves refer, thus the weight of the earth on the body of the deceased, which gives those who mourn their loss a sense of anguish and oppression.
In a sense, a similarity can be found with the greeting used in Christian circles “ Requiescat in pace “, translated into Italian as “Riposa in pace.” However, there is a substantial and inescapable difference. In the pagan greeting there is no implication whatsoever of the Christian faith and in a life after death, in an eternal life. The Christian religion, as we know, sees the day of death as a moment of birth; in fact, Christians used to call that day “ dies natalis ” or “day of birth,” indicating precisely the beginning of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The locution “May the earth be mild to thee” is mostly used by those who wish to give a secular greeting to the deceased, far from any religious meaning.
Today, this phrase is widespread and even goes beyond its literal meaning, becoming simply one of many ways to dedicate a final farewell to the departed person.
May the earth be light to you at last by Alda Merini
I do not need money.
I need feelings,
Of words, of cleverly chosen words,
Of flowers called thoughts,
Of roses said presences,
Of dreams that inhabit the trees,
Of songs that make the statues dance,
Of stars murmuring in lovers’ ears.
I need poetry,
This magic that burns away the heaviness of words,
That awakens emotions and gives new colors.
(Alda Merini, Land of Love, 2003)
The poet was inspired precisely by the locution “May the earth be light to you” to compose this poem dense with meaning. Those who know even a hint of Alda Merini’s biography will know that it was studded with suffering and tragedy and was marked by a deep scar, that of the long period she spent in an asylum.
An out-of-the-box, raw poet who never shied away from the prohibitions imposed by a culture that wanted women caged within the four walls of the home, she gave birth to strong verses, which at the time represented a smear, a black stain on a white picture, and which we instead celebrate and read today with the knowledge that addressing the mass of the excluded, the few was a task that a few, delicate and ironclad personalities managed to accomplish.
May the earth be light to you.
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