Black Agnes in Green Mount Cemetery

In Montpelier, Vermont’s Green Mount Cemetery upon local businessman Hubbard’s gravesite is a sculpture entitled Thanatos, the Greek word for death. Despite winter-related odds, I would see him. In fact it was only him that had me continuing north in the whipping snow to the gates of the unplowed cemetery. I’d set out on foot through the deep blanket of white in hopes that I would easily find him within the cemetery’s high hills.

With no clear paths and the entirety of the cemetery on an incline, I had to worry about where my feet were treading. My sincere apologies, dear souls, who might have had my feet tread your sacred ground… or who may have heard my Spotify as I pulled up.

Of course, I was the only one there.

I was a little worried as I set out. My frozen hands had no such luck ascertaining the location of Hubbard’s monument on my cell phone with a far more popular “Green Mount Cemetery” in both Baltimore, Maryland (which I plan to see soon too) as well as further south in Vermont in Burlington. But because of the incline, I was able to make him out in the distance. I knew I was a total weirdo for sure when this excited me to the point of exclaiming aloud to myself. Can you see him?

So I had read about the legend surrounding this sculpture referred to as Black Agnes, despite being male. If you dare to sit on his lap… untimely death follows 7 (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months years?) after. There are also other supernatural accounts of his powers. Admittedly, I was quite taken by him myself.

He seemed to look different than any of the pictures I had seen of him prior. Perhaps it was because he was helplessly covered in snow, to which I resisted cleaning off of him. Perhaps it was just my eyes upon him and all the thoughts that exist in my head that made him look… for me, for lack of a clearer way to explain it.

I did not sit on his lap. Though, in looking on the interwebs afterwards, I did realize I was standing directly upon Hubbard’s crypt which was covered in snow. Eek, this cemetery in the snow is difficult. Did you know in the beautiful Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France has a monument with a rather disproportionate bulge in its groin that visitors rub for luck in their love lives? I didn’t do that either. Totally weird.

This is a excerpt from the poem inscribed on the monument. From William Cullen Bryan’s “Thanatopsis.” 

Approach thy grave
Like one who wraps
The Drapery of his couch
About him and lies down
To pleasant dream.

I don’t know if he looks like he is within a pleasant dream. He seems upset and my favorite kind of messed up… messed up with a nice jaw line. Sorry, I will not objectify Black Agnes.

Though I will call him beautiful.

Goodbye, handsome man of death.

I’d say you make a perfect Angel in the Snow.