Roadside

The white crosses stand
by the side of the road
marking the places
where death’s sting stung,
tombs of known soldiers
just marching along,
minding their business.
And then they were not.
 
In the eyes of the law
private memorials cannot
legally stand on public land.
But those left behind
no longer look with such
eyes; their vision milky
with grief they crawl
cautiously in mercy’s tow.
 

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2 Comments

  1. mike graves on August 3, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    and it gets run over by a snuff dipping good ol boy running a bush hog for the hyway dept

  2. gracenwilk on August 4, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    Woa! I resemble that comment, Mike. JOHN: there is a cross at the intersection of Cockrell Hill and I30, where a four year-old was killed in a wreck- Linda and I did the funeral, visited the family, saw them in church for a while. I pass it almost every day but have learned not to see it. I don’t know how to say thank you for opening my eyes again and for prodding my heart toward prayer, because thanks is NOT how I’d describe feeling this unwelcome, necessary anguish.
    Nonetheless . . .

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