a litany of the dead

a litany of the dead

restless sleep plagues the night an empty breeze moans
as a litany of the dead passes making the old eyes flutter
the names bring flickers of light a life out of rotted bones
a shelf of cracked dusty glasses reflect a candle’s sputter
matching names with the faces in the dry book of history
recalling the dates of the events assigning to each a place
aligning those unfamiliar places resolving the tiny mystery
understand all the missed intents an emotion on each face
pronounce the sacred names so slowly carefully intoned
whisper the pages of a ledger in which the debts are listed
measure the losses and the gains the bought sold or owned
minus the pain and pleasure and that tangled and twisted
afraid to find one final page the signature at the very end
drained at last of time’s rage and no new messages to send