Granite Garden by Michael Keshigian

A place where bones live outside the skin,

freckled, time stained lumps of granite,

a tombstone garden of remembrance

in the middle of the city,

just outside the back bedroom window

of his apartment, when at night,

he awakens to warily gaze

upon the reshaped monoliths, 

popping up from the ground,

varied in dimensions, these moonlit humpbacks 

reflect the blanched light, igniting questions,

philosophical and religious musings

to keep him up awake.

During the daylight hours,

he can see how the earth 

adopts these sculptures over the years,

pine needles nestled around

and between the formations,

weeds that take hold in the cracks, 

choked by hairy stemmed sumac and ivies

that demand space from the flowers

visitors leave to console their anguish.

These stones secure secrets beneath the glow, 

granite sears a pledge of eternal silence,

no matter the multitude of years

and interrogatories brought to bear, 

for this crop of gray is a garden,

sprouting memorial trinkets

upon which all will forever gaze

and eventually be gazed upon.

Michael Keshigian’s thirteenth poetry collection, The Garden Of Summer will be released this Spring, 2019 by Flutter Press.  He has been widely published in numerous national and international journals and has appeared as feature writer in over twenty publications with 6 Pushcart Prize and 2 Best Of The Net nominations. (michaelkeshigian.com)