Landscaper

by Lynn Valentine

This is his work, the slow heaping
of soil into a grave.
He digs the shape of a life,
stands well back while mourners
seed the ground with tears.
Afterwards, a nod to his mate,
the push of earth against wood and air,
the filling in, the flattening.
In summer he tends the flower beds,
talks to roses, watches
each pale petal fall.