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.

Copyright Credit: 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.