West Cemetery
~Rajean Gallagher, 2005

If I'm quiet and listen carefully,
I will hear whispers of  my family.
Stories they tell are unrehearsed,
communing with me from under the dirt.

Violin-playing farmers reck'n due
respect. Dying in coal mines,or from the 'flu.
All thirteen generations in final
repast. Six here, each greater than the last.

West of town: wind echoes of family,
brush  my hair, leave the trees. They beckon me.
Spoken breeze-words touch my mouth, verbal play
un-restful under six feet of red clay.

They call to me from the other side-
reminding me to join them when I rest inside.
Dedicated to my family.
West Cemetery
~Rajean Gallagher, 2005
When I'm quiet, I listen carefully,
to the voices of my dead family.
The tales  they tell are unrehearsed,
(They're communing with me from under the dirt.)

Violin-playing farmers reck'n due
respect. Dying in coal mines,or from the 'flu.
Thirteen American generations at their final address-
Six generations lie here, each greater than the last.

West Cemetery in Athens: wind echoes of family,
brush  my hair, leave the trees. They beckon me.
Their spoken breeze-words touch my mouth, a verbal play--
Their spirits un-restful under six foot of red clay.

They call to me from the other side-
reminding me to join them when I rest inside.
Revised version- looser sonnet/free form?
Poetry Index
Angel Sleeps by Rajean Gallagher 2000
pastel on paper from model
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