GRAVEYARD LOVE

by John Grey

Where else can we be alone

but amid the tombstones,

in the lengthening shadows of the angels,

on the soft damp grass beneath the sagging willows,

on the marble bench,

amid flowers both dead and wild,

with back against the mausoleum,

or on the fresh earth of the newest dug grave.

Why shouldn't love flourish

amid the accouterments of death?

Yes, it's cold and still and silent here,

but down below, there's feasting worms.

We're not the only ones swathed in passion.

"I saw something," you whisper.

"Just other lovers," I reply.

At the tip of a broken cross,

a translucent wisp of a young woman

stabs at a glowing brute of a man

as he attempts to strangle her.

"There, there, over there."

You point and tremble.

"Like I said," I reply. "Just other lovers.”

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Orbis, Dalhousie Review, and Connecticut River Review. Latest book, Leaves On Pages, is available through Amazon.

Ann Marie Rhiel is the Assistant Art Director for Yellow Mama Webzine. She was born and raised in Bronx, New York, presently living in New Jersey. She reconnected with her passion for art in 2016 and has had her work exhibited in art galleries around northern New Jersey ever since. She is a commissioned painting artist, who also enjoys photography. Her work has also appeared in Black Petals and Megazine Official.