Ancient Burial Ground

They nailed a spike into the earth
to mark the ancient burial ground.

A sign reminds us to respect the dead
and don’t step in certain spots!

We only seem to revere them all
once they’re dead

gone from every facet of our lives
except for city and street names and sports teams,

but their spirits frighten us
even more than their bodies.

What will they do to us when they see
that we resemble their killers?

So many people forget these places,
and now spikes are pipes

that will run through the earth,
stab the heart that sutures together our very souls

and where will you go for sustenance?
Answer me that one.

By Kevin Risner

Biography:

Kevin Risner is a product of Ohio and has lived there for most of his life except for brief stints in England and Turkey. At the present, he resides in the Cleveland area where he is ESL Coordinator at the Cleveland Institute of Art. His poetry can be found in The Mill (University of Toledo), Red Paint Hill, Red Flag Poetry, and Silver Birch Press.