I Couldn’t Throw Dirt on Your Casket by Donna J. Gelagotis Lee

The rabbi floated like a magician.
Your casket we chose, bronze colored.

It was closed, as was the custom.
And at the grave, everyone took turns

shoveling some dirt onto your casket,
like a token gesture. I could not do it.

For me, it was like throwing dirt at you.
It dignified nothing. I’d throw a line of life,

not death. Who could say you wouldn’t know it?
Who could prove that the dead do not create

a force, distinguished on the particles felt
between us?

From: https://rappahannockreview.com/issue-5-3/contents/poetry/donna-j-gelagotis-lee/

Date: 2018

By: Donna J. Gelagotis Lee (19??- )

Tags: 2018, donna j gelagotis lee, i couldn’t throw dirt on your casket, poetry, the rabbi floated like a magician