Chatham Old Burial Ground
Lichens can be killed,
but do they die?
Some people think
they are immortal.
Such worlds —
golden moon glow,
peppered rock-shield,
maritime sunburst—
painted with the words.
Bishop’s still explosions—
slowly they ripple out,
like the generations.
I try to decipher
my 7th great grandmother’s slate,
but some of the letters & numbers
have been entombed.
Tenacious,
the crustose types:
with my fingernails, I scrape
& scrape, taking
& leaving DNA— Mrs.
Elizabeth Bers,
December 1, 1742,
in ye 26th year
of her age—
a story there.
But the past
isn’t any easier to read.
Gulf Stream Magazine 