Covers gravestones
Erases names and dates
Pale green
& white growth overlapping
circular shapes expand
with every year
of neglect.
Rain
will not wash away
the stain
only spur
further growth.
I expect
someday to wear
a mantle of lichen
like a warm coat
sheltering me
from the cold, dark dirt.
James P. Roberts is the author of five previous collections of poetry. Recent work has been published in Weirdbook, Mirror Dance, Rosebud, Sand Canyon Review and Zingara Poetry Review. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin where he haunts Little Free Libraries and has a passion for women’s flat-track roller derby.
Foxglove Journal 