by Daniel Edward Moore

For Gary

Ponder the act     of burying     the promise of ground

being broken & piled         opening the sky              & closing yours

to the sound      of a voice           wearing emerald dirt

where crickets & moles      love his body      till they no longer do

like us    till we no longer can        till weeping sons

with blistered hands      fill a hole with grief     carrying him back

to the world     on their shoes     where each crushed leaf

is an altar to time         each winter’s sun       resurrections rays

warming us there       blooming with sad        solemn & empty

as church.

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Daniel lives in Washington on Whidbey Island. His poems have been found at Spoon River Poetry Review, Columbia Journal, Under A Warm Green Linden, The Museum of Americana Review, and Burningword Literary Journal. He has work forthcoming in West Trade Review, Duende Literary Journal, The Inflectionist Review, Isthmus Review, Glass Mountain Magazine, Columbia College Literary Review, January Review, Yemassee, Cumberland River Review, and The Meadow. His books, “This New Breed: Gents, Bad Boys and Barbarians Anthology” and “Confessions of a Pentecostal Buddhist,” can be found on Amazon. His work has been nominated for both Pushcart Prizes and Best of the Net. Visit Daniel at danieledwardmoore.com.