Decoration Day
Grandma gently kneads
the dark earth down
on the roots of our family.
Black soil streaks her gray hair
and the stones of sisters and brothers passed.
In starts and stops,
stories we know are told again,
as familiar as this place,
these plots, and the soft
‘summer’ wind.
Some say that time
has neither course nor current,
but this cemetery tells me otherwise —
my present opened by the family’s past,
the brilliance of marigolds,
and the black earth under our
fingernails.
— Joe Coffey
Joe Coffey wrote this poem while visiting the
cemetery in Windsor, Ill., where his mother’s family is buried. He
and his grandmother visited every Memorial Day until she died in 1994.
Coffey works at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and
enjoys reading, hearing, and from time to time writing poetry.
People’s Poetry accepts poems on any subject,
but ones that deal with issues of local interest are encouraged. Send yours
to Books and Poetry Editor Corrine Frisch c/o Illinois
Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705,
or to cfrisch@illinoistimes.com with “People’s Poetry” in
the subject line.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 1, 2005.
