Oak Grove Cemetery
By
Don Thompson
Just enough rain an hour ago
to give the wispy dry grass some hope,
turning it green instantly.
This place has been abandoned,
the old faith overgrown, confused
by brambles,
and in these hard times,
its upkeep cut from the budget.
But we walk, soaked to the knees,
making our slow pilgrimage
among gravestones, speaking
blurred names back into the world.
to give the wispy dry grass some hope,
turning it green instantly.
This place has been abandoned,
the old faith overgrown, confused
by brambles,
and in these hard times,
its upkeep cut from the budget.
But we walk, soaked to the knees,
making our slow pilgrimage
among gravestones, speaking
blurred names back into the world.
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Disclaimer
We do not accept unsolicited submissions. American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2016 by Don Thompson, “Oak Grove Cemetery,” from The Cortland Review, (Issue 66,2016). Poem reprinted by permission of Don Thompson and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2024 by The Poetry Foundation.