THE CEMETERY IN OUR SOUL*

Cemetery stones are all together
in the dark green cemetery
in our soul – our dead.

The soul can move graves around

and put them all together – our dead.

Our stone strong memories do this.

And as we walk around the clumpy,
sometimes soggy soil, we stop
at each stone. We remember
the person buried there.
We cry. We smile. We pray.
We feel the specific of each one
we knew and loved: spouse,
mom, dad, brother, sister,
son, daughter, nephew, niece
grandparent, friend ….

And the older we get,
the longer the list, the more

the stones, the bigger
the cemetery in our soul.

And someday we will be remembered
by those whose souls we inhabited
while we lived, and now as dead.

And for those with faith, Jesus –
the Risen One – is also here,
ready to embraces us in the garden,
in the cemetery, in our soul.
We cling to Jesus for a moment.
He isn’t the gardener. He is
Resurrection and New Life.
Then he tells us, he has to move on,
we have to move on. ** We don’t.
We linger. We celebrate.

What would life be like if we didn’t have
those we loved, buried here, all together,
in the cemetery of our souls?

* A reflection for All Soul's Day, 2009

** Cf. John 20:11-18

© Andy Costello, Reflections, 2009