I crawl under the blanket of evening and
press my ear into the soft ground –
listen for the voices that were silenced here
eyes cloaked and soul exposed – I welcome
them to pass through – feel the breath
on my cheek as their lives wash over me
reaching for the cool stones – my fingers
trace the names and dates while I imagine
the flesh that dressed their bones
all their years that have fallen away –
some like over-ripened fruit too heavy
to cling to the branches
others as brittle leaves in fading colors
too frail to remain for another winter –
we are connected in these nighttime visits
life and death pressed together forever
in a chain of prayerful hands – where I steal
a moment’s peace from their eternity
