grave

now that it has been taken from me

to rest beneath the shuddering green

to lay back in the leaves

lean and strong

with the light filtering down on me

--and the coming

lightly,

--a sharp and rippling

freshness

in the dusky still

--from somewhere else

now that I am denied

the final coming

of the familiar ghost

I have not met

and its chill touch on my forehead

and its eyes on my eyes

now that it is far beyond me

now that peace

and honor are buried

deep in the rolling flesh of day

know that I bear

the sunlight on my skin

know that I govern my limbs

purely as an epitaph