A Gravedigger's Prayer Poem by Dale Cody 2

'We commend unto thy hands of mercy
most merciful father
the soul of our departed'

The gravedigger lowered a body unto the waiting sod
to lay in loneliness
whose identity is only knowen to God

He utteres a prayer in silence
as he nailes the pine board down
for an unknowen found in an alley downtown
he wonders what life this body could reveal
if it rose from the pine board seal

All hopes fade when capped with a concrete crown
all that he shall ever know is that a tear could not be found

The ledgers above the tombs tell only the climax of a dream
'A young woman found floating in a swolen stream'

One that tells of loneliness, and it tells it well
'A traveler found dead in a transit hotel'

The painful one, tells of our country's shame
'A child died of hunger, she without a name'

Don't let the youth's death disturb you
for relief has been sought
Today, unlike yesterday, she got a separate plot

The gravedigger rased his lowered head and
looked to heavens high
holding his hat to his heart
as tears rolled from his eyes

He spoke!

'Dear God, I pray for mercy, not for these departed beings, but for those now living who won't acknowledge lives mothers held so dear, with a silent prayer, or to even shed a tear'

Dale Cody