We caught the tombstones sleeping, or so
we thought. The deeper we walked we knew

the sky had dropped gown to ankles
& the cemetery had company locked in.

Time woven out, minutes into moments,
seconds into the sheer white cloth of a cloud

we now feared to part. The tombs no longer
a shortcut to the other side of town where

water was our mirror for skipping stones.
Even the dismembered statues that became

our trophies: Mary Whose Hand was Swallowed
by Her Heart, Our Lady of The Nose Bitten Off

for Spilling Blossoms from Her Robe− seemed
conspired with a lust that could exist above

the moss for this morning only. And when
you dared me– steal the pieces that lay broken

at the feet of the Headless Angel with a Sword–
that only gave Godspeed to the mischief

already sparked in my mind. But leaving
made that weight come alive on my back,

dragging me down, making me stagger
to the space where the walls crowned

with broken bottle shards paused, & stepped
on the same grave as always to climb out,

but this time barely, with what was starting
to weigh as much as a man on my shoulders.