STONE

How unfriendly new gravestones seem!
"Here I am, perfectly straight,

Magnificently heavy;
My neat-carved letters tell the world
This man is dead! Just let him try
To get by me! I am determined
To hold him down forever."

                                                  In time,
The ground shifts a bit and tree roots
Tilt the stone. It relaxes, becomes lenient
"Hey, corpse! Your name has blurred
And the date of your death is unreadable.
If you want to get up and visit a while
With the other dead folk, go ahead"