Graveyard By The Sea Poem by Christal Carpenter

Sitting in the gloomy grave yard
Being sprayed by the traitorous sea
I sketch the forgotten tombs
Not with colors but with my words
Names etched on the grave stones
Names forever lost in the moss
And over grown rose bushes
I see a small plot of land
Size three by three
Grass over grown
Little pink flowers
Sprout up from the soil
I brush away the weeds
And read the faded name
“Annie”, the same as me
The leaves stir around my feet
The shadow of another beside me
Wind blows my hair into my face
I look to my right
A little girl is standing there
She said her name was Annie
And she missed her mom and daddy
I said I would walk her home
It was just at the end of the street
I walked to the door and knocked
I said I had brought there daughter
But no one was behind me
They invited me in
And I seen a picture
Beside an old worn teddy bear
“In memory of Annie age five”
I dropped on the couch
I said “that was her”
The girl I walked home
They explained that she died
When a boy chose to drink and drive
I just sat there and though
Oh what a horrible fate
For a girl of such joy
To be struck with such pain
Just wanting to grow up, to be free
My life changed that day
The day I met the lonely spirit of Annie
And I sit there again
In the grave yard by the see
Just sitting there Annie and me