âEarly on I started to wonder, who wrote this?â he says. It bothered him that âa text with monumental importance to the world of animal mourningâ remained uncredited.
The poemâs popularity, he discovered, was launched in February 1994, when a reader from Grand Rapids, Michigan, sent a copy of âRainbow Bridgeâ that they had received from their local humane society to the advice column Dear Abby. âIf you print this, you had better warn your readers to get out their hankies,â they wrote.
Abby did print the poemâand confessed to shedding âa tear or twoââbut she also pointed out to her 100 million readers that the authorâs name was regrettably missing. âIf anyone in my reading audience can verify authorship, please let me know.â
No one came forward, but after that, âRainbow Bridgeâ seemed to be everywhere. Starting in 1995, Koudounaris found records of 15 separate claims filed under the title âRainbow Bridgeâ with the United States Copyright Office. He compiled a list of around 25 names he found with any connection to the poem and, one by one, looked into each and crossed them off as possible authors until he was left with just one: Edna Clyne-Rekhy.
He had found Clyne-Rekhyâs name after seeing reference in an online chat group to an Edna âClydeâ from Scotland who allegedly wrote the poem when her sonâs dog died. Some Googling led him to Clyne-Rekhy, whose authorship of a book about her late husband and their dog made him jot her name onto the listâthe only woman and the only non-American.
âWhat initially would have seemed like the most unlikely candidate in the end turned out to be the most intriguing candidate and, of course, the actual author,â Koudounaris says.
When Koudounaris finally reached Clyne-Rekhy in January and asked if she was the author of âRainbow Bridge,â her first response, she says, was âHow on Earth did you find me!?ââ
Clyne-Rekhyâs story, which Koudounaris detailed earlier this month, began in 1959. She was 19 years old and grieving the loss of her Labrador Retriever, Major. âHe died in my arms, actually,â she recalled in a call with National Geographic. âI dearly loved him.â
The day after Major died, Clyne-Rekhy was still âjust crying and crying,â she says, when her mother asked her what was wrong.
âItâs Major,â Clyne-Rekhy replied. âI canât put away this soreness.â
âMaybe write down how youâre feeling,â her mother suggested.
Clyne-Rekhy followed her motherâs advice. Sitting in the familyâs lounge at their home near Inverness, she wrote a first line on a white sheet of paper: âJust this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.â From there, she says, the words poured out of her, filling the front and back.
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, your pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and strength, those who were hurt are made better and strong again, like we remember them before they go to heaven. They are happy and content except for one small thingâthey each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are shining, his body shakes. Suddenly he begins to run from the herd, rushing over the grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cuddle in a happy hug never to be apart again. You and your pet are in tears. Your hands again cuddle his head and you look again into his trusting eyes, so long gone from life, but never absent from your heart, and then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.
âIt just came through my head, it was like I was talking to my dogâI was talking to Major,â she says. âI just felt all of this and I had to write it.â
Clyne-Rekhy still has the original hand-written draft of the poem. When she showed it to Koudounaris, he says he immediately knew it was real. âThe rest of her story confirmed it for me later, but I canât fully explain the power of those sheets.â
Though she never published the poem herself, Clyne-Rekhy eventually did show it to a handful of friends. âThey were all crying,â she says. They asked her if they could take copies home, so she hand-typed duplicates for themâbut did not include her name.
Koudounaris suspects that it must have been passed person to person until it lost its connection to its original authorâand eventually took on a life of its own. He also noticed discrepancies in the poemâs language that made him suspect it was much older than people assumed.
Some versions he read, for example, talked about animals âwho are maimed and made whole again,â while others referenced animals being âreturned to vigour.â These slight differences âlet me know something important: That this has been travelling around for a while,â Koudounaris says.
Clyne-Rekhy spent years in India and later moved to an olive farm in Spainâa path that may help to explain why she was not aware of the poemâs growing popularity in Britain, the U.S., and beyond, Koudounaris says.
âCan you imagine?â she says. âEvery vet in Britain has it!â
Koudounaris credits the enduring popularity and potency of âRainbow Bridgeâ for many Western readers to the theological need it fills. Those who were raised Christian, he points out, were often told by parents or priests that animals lack souls and therefore will not join them in Heaven.
ââRainbow Bridgeâ provides the missing piece for people who have had to live with this anxiety that their animal is not good enough to deserve an afterlife,â Koudounaris says. âIt gives us a reason to hope.â
Kitty Block, CEO and president of the Humane Society, agrees that âRainbow Bridgeâ has bestowed the world with âa vision that has brought comfort to millions grieving the loss of a pet.â
âIts enduring popularity shows how relationships to pets matter to so many people across all walks of life,â she says. âThe intimacy of those connections can help us recognise our fundamental duty to care for animals, those who are part of our families and those in the wider world.â
As for Clyne-Rekhy, she says she already has concrete plans to be reunited with Major and her subsequent pets, whose ashes she has kept.
âWeâre going to be scattered in the North Sea,â she says. âWeâll be food for the seals.â
midipoet on March 4th, 2023 at 12:50 UTC »
For those that don't know the poem
https://therainbowbridgepoem.org/
“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
“When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
“All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
“They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
“You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
“Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together…."
Tristessa27 on March 4th, 2023 at 09:58 UTC »
My dog died in 2004. I have never been able to get through the entire Rainbow Bridge letter they gave us with her ashes. 😢
CraftyTraaaaaaaaaaaa on March 4th, 2023 at 07:07 UTC »
*Over 60 years ago actually.
Also the guys name is Paul Koudounaris and he's been searching for the author since 1995!