The Gravedigger

by Howard Camner

 

See the gravedigger
waiting impatiently while you dawdle
Say your goodbyes and get lost
The man has work to do
bills to pay
kids to feed
hands to wash

See the gravedigger
The same dirt under the same nails for fourteen years
You dig twelve down, four across
people die in threes
It's a numbers game, that's all
no faces
no names
no Heaven or Hell
no pain
no tears
no loss
just numbers

In cahoots with the Reaper?
Not really
It's just a job, that's all
and he's got bills to pay
and kids to feed

See the gravedigger
His heart like the rock he can't break through
He is the keeper of Necropolis
He is the releaser of souls
He is the usher at the exit

See the gravedigger
He checks the obituaries every day
and walks the long way home

just to pass that used car lot on the corner
to see if that red Cadillac's still there

 

© 2005 Howard Camner

Howard Camner is the author of fifteen books of poetry. His most recent book is Cheating the Sphinx. He represents the United States in the Poet 2000 Sculpted Library, an international exhibition of the works of contemporary poets. He received the first annual Mi-Po Literary Award in 2004.