but a kind of burial ground
rich in ancient remnants ground
into dust, to surface long after in ground
so far away that what is found
curiously has no meaning,
just a sort of powerful existence,
as a tomb hasn't nearly the dead one's meaning,
while providing the one dead with existence .
Rachel Hadas
PASS IT ON, III
Lilacs look neon in fading light.
Death makes life shine:
a tiredness, a flickering between
ages, which is each age;
a piling up to tottering
and falling back to sand.
So much for cycle . The front-door lock
sticks each fall when we're first back.
We are advised to oil it.
Olive oil in the keyhole:
again the old key turns.
Once again to meander
along the edge of water,
whether tideless sea or tidal river,
pushing the stroller, dreaming
oil in the lock; the key
dipped in lubricity
