Silent Soil  #127
November  7,  1997

I am a lost ledger of life
Through a shadow
Feeble hands of little men
have etched my epitaph
upon sandy pillars
A lifetime of memories captured quiet

Unmovable
I hear your tears
in the shapes of prayers
I remain still
as our wedding portrait
Stretched out underneath strong oak
Bony fingers tickle the ground near me
They wince and snap
I grow even colder
I have become an eclipse of your beaming
My reality occludes
the cooling dusk sun
from setting in your eyes

Sunburned leaves
wander and writhe at my feet
and gather a web of time
beneath my brow
My green flowing gown
has turned sandpaper drab

Last night
I felt knee prints
digging into my silent soil
Your ungroomed fingernails traced my name
then gracefully withdrew
While I pondered
Why do you not weep for the living?