Night In A Negro Graveyard Poem by Willie Walker

It is a dark and foreboding night.

The moon has run and hid its light

The pine trees stand shrouded in gloom.

Yellow-eyed owl forecasting his doom.

Gravestones lay broken, scattered about,

A good night for ghouls to wander out.

Deserted road snakes through the swamp

The earth lies moldy, soggy, and damp

A sound comes low, barely heard

It floats in the mist, Is it a word?

The owl goes quiet, cold with fear

It is the sound of death he can hear.

Words whispered I hear, “welcome home.”

My heart falters, there’s a clank of bone,

Upon my ear a message comes clear,

'We have been waiting for you here.'

“Come lay down with us forever more,

Your grave is dug, it’s an open door,

When you entered here you came to stay,

Your eternal journey starts here today.

From a dark cold grave I can see,

A black shadow rise and come at me,

Stares into my soul with blazing eyes,

Moans a sound like a woman’s cries.

Beckons me toward an open grave, it says,

“Enter here now, for you are already dead, ”

Loudly I cry, “I yet live as you can see,

I will as long as someone loves me.”

“Then say their name, ” the wisp was undaunted,

“For it is written, you are a man that’s unwanted.”

My heart falls as I struggle about

To find someone’s love I can tout.

But no one cares and my heart goes cold,

As the demon drags me toward that hole.

To those I leave and those who I love

Love each other while your still above.

So when the time comes you can give,

That name you can say that lets you live.

Finis