The houses sag, the roofs
the old church sags, even trees
the entire town nestles
into the ground becoming
part of it.
_____Through springtime greenness
distant flowers resemble
bright beach umbrellas,
patrons a slow-moving mist.
_____Rows of booths weave among
gravestones where children scramble,
where excess birdhouses
and wrought-iron fantasies
are heaped.
_____Collar drip from overcast sky
burble of green voices
olio of burger and
plant smells.
_____Church property abuts
the slow-winding river
where some etched headstones
have stood watching for
nearly three hundred years.
_____Water has overflowed
this place, yet people
return both living
and dead.
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