They still cling to your fingers
as pieces: this cemetery
is all that's left from an empty shell
that became the Earth, patched
with wooden tools and tears
to lower the ground ̶ by themselves
take this dirt by the hand
already an endless breeze
warmed by your soft blouse
unbuttoned each spring to show
what emptiness looks like
from inside where you point
as if step by step sharp picks
are cracking open your gravestone
not yet amber or gravel.
SIMON PERCHIK is an American poet who has been described by Library Journal as, "the most widely published unknown poet in America." Perchik worked as an attorney before his retirement in 1980. Educated at New York University, he now resides in East Hampton, New York. You can find his complete bibliography at https://simonperchikpoet.com/