Michelle Morris Poet Free verse

Headstones

Headstones
By Michelle Morris
12/01/2023

We put headstones
On the graves of our loved ones
Names and dates and epitaphs
That cannot summarise a life

That dash in between the dates
The dash that encapsulates everything
And nothing of human existence
Except joining two dates of significance

For almost everyone knows 
When they are born
A starting point of a journey
That takes many forms

But not everyone knows
The day they will leave
For these are matters
That Fate can turn quickly

And all that is often left
On the battlefield of Life 
Is a headstone that gives
Basic information so trite

For what is humanhood
Left in graveyards so full?
Headstones and shades of grey
Flowers the only colours left for onlookers

For what is the meaning
Of each person's life?
If it can be reduced to few words
Carved on stone or granite?

But if one looks deeper
Into the souls of the living
The feelings are there
Beyond what headstones can fathom

For deep in our hearts
In our minds and our souls
We want to feel like our loved ones
Have found their way home

But if they should be lost
Let them these headstones peruse
And find their own coffin
Amongst the dark rows

For neatly and designed
The graveyard is created
So that the living and dead
Can find themselves later

© Michelle Morris, 2023

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Paul Bell January 16, 2023 at 1:38 PM Sadly, even the graveyards are full up now. I get your point though, and with all the search engines about, maybe a google search code on tombstones could give the history of someone.