The sun was coming,
but she preferred how the misty gray
surrounded the tombstones;
silent reminders.
Wandering,
wondering
about stories untold:
1774,
32 years old,
he died before the Constitution;
was he a soldier,
a father…
Markers too often neglect
to fill in the blanks.
Mighty trees, once saplings,
stand sentinel
that no tomb shall go unvisited.
Surely the souls must look back
upon such remembrance,
scattered fragments - their journeys continue.
1882,
24,
birthing a child claims a life;
slightly askew in the monument's shadow,
the tiniest stone…
So many bits and pieces,
stains and blemishes,
the tears left behind
etched in the grain.
Walking, she placed her hand
upon the life
now growing inside her;
a better vessel for an old soul.
And smiled softly for the sunshine
that fell upon a still-born's granite,
a story she knew by heart.
In a list
A contest entry
- Where Will You Take This? by Dalaney.
600 points, ended November 16, 2007, 18 entries
Honorable winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - rockerchkpoet's DFI Rounds Contest ~~~ Round 1 - Dress to Impress by And Hyetal.
600 points, ended January 17, 30 entries
Honorable winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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I'm really touched by this piece, Ken. The junior high kids here often make a school project of sprucing up an old graveyard from the 1800's, which, along with some nearby buildings, are rumored to be haunted. There was an historic graveyard adjacent to the high school I attended, also, that went back even further. It had not been tended in decades, and is overgrown with weeds. It was vandalized a few years ago, and some of the beautiful old tombstones desecrated.
Of course, vandals have no respect for the living, so I don't know why I would wonder that they don't respect the dead, either....
I wonder, too, at the stories untold, with a sense that perhaps there are those there who share their tales in the whisper of tall grasses and wind beneath the companioning branches of an old tree.
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Beautiful. I really don't know what to say but that this story warmed me a bit inside. The way you ended this was just amazing.
Thank you so much for entering my contest.
Always,
Cassie
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when one visits those tomestones it cab be said...
what stories could be told by those who have pssed. what wonders in their lifetime could be known.
only if they could tell us. what knowledge would we learn?
You have me thinking with this>
Keep penning on one stroke at a time!
Bill
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Let me say that this poem touched me deeply. First off because I had a child who died immediately after birth some seventeen years ago. I can still at times feel his kicks. Secondly, while I lived in Florida for four years, far from my family here in Arizona, I visited the cemetaries to find my muse. It was a place of peace for me, where souls no longer suffered. I read many headstones, and reimagined the lives below; now gone.
Your poem shows such an extreme amount of emotion, talent, and ability to transport the reader to another place and time. It is deep, yet could be understood by even a child. You are a true artist, and should be very proud of this write. I applaud such raw talent.
Blessed be,
Billie Jean
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Great words
I enjoy this read and I know people with think I am morbid however i go to grave yards a lot and read the stones and let my mind travel. Some so young and some from 1819 their stones broken and half their names written. makes you wonder if no one was left behind to keep their memories a love and grades kept up. OR was they not a good person? so many questions in the grave yard. Love this one.
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You captured my attention
in the beginning - I live
in the south, and cemeteries
have always fascinated me...
so many untold stories. Your
writing is superb, and I am
honored to have this in my
contest. Lane
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Interesting. This is wonderfully done, ended rather abruptly, I think, but wicked work all the same and beautiful imagery - bravo, bravo
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Ahhhh. This is simply beautiful. So well done. So very well done.
~Pamela 
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beautiful poem. I loved the ending. So well written great job.
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