the august sun warmed my back
as the last row of flowers
were planted in dirt
dark as night
when the foreman
asked me to go
to the chapel and retrieve
the casket inside for burial
and place it near
a white marble angel
and as i headed that way
wondered how it was possible
for me to bring a body
from there to here
all by myself
forgetting about the new section
reserved for babies
and as the cool chapel air
slapped my face and eyes
adjusted to the shade
spied a small white box
near the altar
no bigger than one for shoes
you buy at the mall
and as my heart pounded
i reverently raised it up
lighter than a breath
and carried the tiny package
to plot seventeen
and laid the box down
on green green grass
then dug a hole
appropriately sized
and planted one final sprout
that day just moments
before grief-stricken parents
headed my way
hand in hand to stand
beside the neatly seeded
patch of ground.
