Unnamed Early 20th Century Burial in St Matthew’s Episcopal Church Cemetery, by Paul Jones

Unnamed Grave, photograph by Paul Jones (USA) contemporary

Unnamed Early 20th Century Burial in St Matthew’s Episcopal Church Cemetery 
Hillsborough, NC (2020)

A small grave marked “Unnamed”
Without date or acclaim,
Past century’s mystery,
Performs a ministry
Of grace in this churchyard.
This modest slab set hard
Against the worst weather,
Something meant forever,
Became grief’s darkest gift.
A still birth swiftly shifts 
Love from cradle to grave.
Was this small life unsaved,
Unbaptized and not named?
So pure life was reclaimed
Before life could begin,
Before the curse of sin.
Yet love with that life stayed.
Where roots have made a braid,
A resurrection fern
Each rain, in green, returns.

Paul Jones

Paul Jones’ poetry has been published in Poetry, Red Fez, Unblocked, and in anthologies including Best American Erotic Poems (1800 - Present). Recently, he was nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and two Best of the Web Awards. His chapbook is What the Welsh and Chinese Have in Common. A manuscript of his poems crashed on the moon in summer 2019 carried by the Beresheet Lander.