A Grave Responsibility
To guide
your pinewood casket
into the neat
rectangular slot
carved in the wet clay
Like fishermen
letting their
nets down
or the friends
of the paralytic in
Luke who
yanked off roof-
tiles, 6 of us
with straps
looped through
casket handles
lowered you
into the ground.
When the crowd
went in out of
winter rain
I dropped down
into the grave
crouched
on top of the casket
and rolled up
the slack straps.
Like you, perhaps
glad to be
out of the wind.
