The Pity and Power of a Short Life: Reflections by the Grave of David Brainerd

Bridge Street CemeteryNorthampton, MassachusettsI found David Brainerd’s grave today with the help of a friend who knew where to look. Something about the simplicity and obscurity of this spot suits this unlikely hero quite well. The stonecutter didn’t give his work proper attention — he misspelled Brainerd’s name and got both his death date and his age wrong — but perhaps the amateur work was considered good enough for a poor man’s grave. Yet the etched marble still reads with surprising force: