A Memorial Day Poem

 

BLACK GRANITE

She stands silent in the corner

Watching them go by;

Searching faces under hats

With sad and lonely eyes.

Studying mustaches

And how each cowboy walks,

The bright silk tied about their necks,

Listening when they talk.

And then she hears his voice across

The growing years and knows

Just how his touch felt in the night

When the cold wind blew.

And knows she’ll never find him

Walking free and tall.

His name’s with many others on

A long, black granite wall.

She sees his look in every hand

Wearing boots and hat.

She’s still alone without a man

And sometimes cries at that.

But no man seems to measure up

To memories she recalls

Of one whose name is now engraved

On that long, black granite wall.