A Monk’s Burial – a poem by Royal Rhodes

A Monk's Burial

We see on the ice plains,
the snow on brittle stubble.
From the white lake
fishermen leave the shacks
to watch the slow line
of mourners -- singling
up to the holy ground
broken open, like the holes
for ice fishing
in the deep, flat water.
The pile of sandy dirt
seems to cover
the broken backbone
of an ancient whale.
Each of us, with a hand full
of soil or line
is drawn down now
into the silence.

Royal Rhodes taught the history of Christianity for almost forty years. His poems have appeared in a number of literary journals, including: Ekstasis Poetry, Amethyst Magazine, Foreshadow Magazine, The Cafe Review, New Verse News, and  STAR 82 Review, among others. Art and poetry collaborations have been published by The Catbird [on the Yadkin] Press in North Carolina.