I used to mow the graveyard
next to a church in South Strafford,
edging close to the carved stones—
names I’d say aloud.
Why does the ground above the buried
round and swell?
I remember the loud sound,
a gas smell, my fingers
stained, and the wind
in my hair.
Sarah Dickenson Snyder has a full-length collection of poetry, The Human Contract, (Aldrich Press) and a chapbook, Notes from a Nomad, (Finishing Line Press). She was selected to be part of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and has had poems published recently in The Comstock Review, Damfino Press and The Main Street Rag.
