To Death

Sing to them beyond the stars

That I remember shadows of their smiles

And long to see their light again

But leave me here another hour

To feel the summer sun

And hear a sparrow in the eves.

If you could come with me to see

Black dirt, made mud with tears

Washed away by rain, clear drops

From children’s faces, old women’s

Hands knotted, folded on their laps in Church,

And spray from crashing breakers in the sea —

You would weep with me, and linger for a while

To feel the soil beneath your feet.

Leave me now, and tell them I will come

When autumn dries the hills

And I have seen the seasons by.