A Little Graveyard in Damascus, Arkansas

I remember distinctly my Orientation Day at the University of Arkansas. I wore my red t-shirt with the words IT'S ME printed across the front - it seemed an appropriate way to introduce myself.

Those of us interested in majoring in English were given a tour of Kimpel Hall, and spoke to the guidance counselors (or whatever they were called) about the different emphases available to English majors.

When I saw that 'English with an emphasis in Creative Writing' was an option, I knew what my major would be in. And despite everyone insisting that all freshmen change their majors at some point, I did not.

Below is a wee poem excerpted from my book, Meatloaf and a Rosary (available as an eBook and readable on your Kindle, computer, phone, etc!) It's a memory that's been spending some quality time in my head lately, and it's also the inspiration for the cover photo of the book.

A Little Graveyard in Damascus, Arkansas

A little girl in a graveyard
tiptoes around gravestones,
holding with cautious hand her mother
and holding her breath as long as she can.
Her tiny green dress billows
in the wind she fears holds ghosts.
Her skinny pink legs prickle.
She carries carnations for her mother
who shows her coffee-can concrete grave
markers and speaks out loud, unmindful
of the dead people below.
She does not hear the stories
but bites her fingers and bends her sadness
around the scratches left in a tiny stone.





Hey! Support a girl and buy the eBook - it's only $2.99! You may think poetry isn't your thing... but then you may be pleasantly surprised to find it's actually quite enjoyable!