Here is what is in my head: The picture of a gray and decayed corpse. One can see the ribs of a chest of a once-proud human, now draped in tattered clothing long since eroded by the elements. The shell of a life that once inhabited these dusty remains has been turned from bloody death to black death to fading memories of the life it fed in its decay.

Surrounding this pale-coal colored body is that of the most verdant field, with gently sloping hills and dales, where thin blades of...