Mummy, I’m scared,
you tighten your little hand
round mine. 

The hole dark;
your face darker
with fear
tears waiting for a command.

A crushed skull,
a broken pelvic bone,
and a fragment of a hand
dirty
with damp earth. 

Walking between overgrown graves;
pine needles crushed under our feet
veins spider the marble 

I pull you close
feel your pulse race through air.

It’ll be all right, my love. Have no fear.

We walk in silence
down the island road.

Birds in the distance
dispel the clouds;
the waves beat hard
against the rocks.