Exploring the Rainbow Bridge
Nov. 21st, 2013 04:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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poetreeIntroduction
In many cultures, the animals we share our homes and lives with have transcended their original roles of utility and become part of our families. Dogs and cats have moved from field and farm to our couches, beds, and hearts. In some cultures, property status is being replaced by guardianship, and even where pets are not recognized by the law as part of the family, their merit as something more than chattel is seen in everything from doggy daycares and kitty Christmas presents to the overwhelming public response to high-profile cruelty cases like that of "Puppy Doe" in Boston.
Consequently, the loss of companion animals has become increasingly significant. Psychologists research and recognize pet loss as significant and on par with the bereavement experienced when human companions perish. Many veterinary colleges require student learning on grief counseling for future dealings with heartbroken pet owners. Pet cemeteries, crematory services, and memorial fabrication are growing industries. In short: we love our pets, and we seek to memorialize them.
The Rainbow Bridge
One term that has become ubiquitous with remembering lost pets is "The Rainbow Bridge." A widely circulated prose poem by an unknown author, The Rainbow Bridge has become adopted as folk lore on our pets' afterlife since at least the early 1990's. Found in numerous books, newsletters, and online websites, and adapted into a more poetic format, The Rainbow Bridge has become a household name. You can find it mentioned on sympathy cards, in vet offices, and accompanying memorials. One of the oldest online pet loss communities shares its name with the poem. It isn't rare for pet lovers to use the euphemism, "crossed over the [Rainbow] Bridge," when describing the death of a pet, much the way we might say a human "has gone to a better place/to Heaven."
Memorial and Healing
The poem's contagious popularity demonstrates our desire to hold on, to remember our pets, and to extend our concept of an afterlife to include them. However, it also shows the power of poetry in the process of loss, grief, and healing. This simple poem has helped countless pet owners manage grief, and its widespread use in forms of commemoration shows that it also serves as a way to memorialize our pets, remembering a time when they were healthy and whole, and moving forward with the faith that we may one day see them again.
Remembering and Sharing
As the former administrator of a large fish forum that had a memorial section, I wrote a companion to The Rainbow Bridge for fish owners/lovers that many forum members found helpful when dealing with the loss of their finned friends. It is called Swimming Under the Rainbow Bridge and was originally posted on ultimatebettas.com.
Have you encountered The Rainbow Bridge prior to this posting? Are there other poems about pet loss that have touched you? How do you commemorate your pets? Please share in the comments. This is an open and supportive floor to remember your non-human loved ones, be it through stories, pictures, or poetic contributions. An optional challenge is to write a haiku (or other poetic form of your choice) to memorialize a lost pet.
Additional Reading
You can see a variety of poems memorializing pets who have passed away here (note the many references to the Rainbow Bridge), as well as a "Rainbow Bridge List" to memorialize lost pets (this site holds a candle ceremony every Monday for the pets on the list).
In many cultures, the animals we share our homes and lives with have transcended their original roles of utility and become part of our families. Dogs and cats have moved from field and farm to our couches, beds, and hearts. In some cultures, property status is being replaced by guardianship, and even where pets are not recognized by the law as part of the family, their merit as something more than chattel is seen in everything from doggy daycares and kitty Christmas presents to the overwhelming public response to high-profile cruelty cases like that of "Puppy Doe" in Boston.
Consequently, the loss of companion animals has become increasingly significant. Psychologists research and recognize pet loss as significant and on par with the bereavement experienced when human companions perish. Many veterinary colleges require student learning on grief counseling for future dealings with heartbroken pet owners. Pet cemeteries, crematory services, and memorial fabrication are growing industries. In short: we love our pets, and we seek to memorialize them.
The Rainbow Bridge
One term that has become ubiquitous with remembering lost pets is "The Rainbow Bridge." A widely circulated prose poem by an unknown author, The Rainbow Bridge has become adopted as folk lore on our pets' afterlife since at least the early 1990's. Found in numerous books, newsletters, and online websites, and adapted into a more poetic format, The Rainbow Bridge has become a household name. You can find it mentioned on sympathy cards, in vet offices, and accompanying memorials. One of the oldest online pet loss communities shares its name with the poem. It isn't rare for pet lovers to use the euphemism, "crossed over the [Rainbow] Bridge," when describing the death of a pet, much the way we might say a human "has gone to a better place/to Heaven."
Memorial and Healing
The poem's contagious popularity demonstrates our desire to hold on, to remember our pets, and to extend our concept of an afterlife to include them. However, it also shows the power of poetry in the process of loss, grief, and healing. This simple poem has helped countless pet owners manage grief, and its widespread use in forms of commemoration shows that it also serves as a way to memorialize our pets, remembering a time when they were healthy and whole, and moving forward with the faith that we may one day see them again.
Remembering and Sharing
As the former administrator of a large fish forum that had a memorial section, I wrote a companion to The Rainbow Bridge for fish owners/lovers that many forum members found helpful when dealing with the loss of their finned friends. It is called Swimming Under the Rainbow Bridge and was originally posted on ultimatebettas.com.
Have you encountered The Rainbow Bridge prior to this posting? Are there other poems about pet loss that have touched you? How do you commemorate your pets? Please share in the comments. This is an open and supportive floor to remember your non-human loved ones, be it through stories, pictures, or poetic contributions. An optional challenge is to write a haiku (or other poetic form of your choice) to memorialize a lost pet.
Additional Reading
You can see a variety of poems memorializing pets who have passed away here (note the many references to the Rainbow Bridge), as well as a "Rainbow Bridge List" to memorialize lost pets (this site holds a candle ceremony every Monday for the pets on the list).
Wipes eyes
Date: 2013-11-22 12:40 am (UTC)Sometimes I dream of pets I've lost, or feel their presence in my life in other small ways. They have always been members of my family, even if others did not see it that way. Thank you for sharing the wonderful resources and poems in this post.
no subject
Date: 2013-11-22 02:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-11-23 05:32 am (UTC)I have a shelf for photos of loved ones who have died. It includes a photo of a furry member of my SO's family (who I also consider family). Katie was a fox terrier who lived to be 19.5. It was a hard goodbye, but it was time. I light a candle for her on the anniversary of her birth and death.