Memorial

Memorial

We cannot enter the underground house
of the dead, so we visit the back porch,
the wall of names that, upon touching,
absorbs our grief.
We are lured into thinking that
by looking up a name,
We can somehow make contact,
like looking up an old friend in the phone book.
But the wall is just that –
a separation. They remain
in the underground house.
We are left to touch a name on the back porch.