What thoughts must run through
the minds of grave-diggers and under-takers
as exhaustion leeches from their bones
…as grief fills the air
What conversation can be had
between the living
and the dead
as graveyards fill
and eyes fill
and lips quiver
as chests hitch
and minds wander
searching for the
right words
to say
© Vivian Zems
#skyloverwordlist-conversation
dVerse-OLN
Day 16 -National Poetry Month
Smell The Coffee 
April 16, 2020 at 10:54 am
So true! And so powerful! I’m looking for the right emoji, but I don’t think there is one. Two Cuban friends told me some dark jokes involving grave diggers, though that kind of coping mechanism only works with very close friends.
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April 16, 2020 at 6:13 pm
I quite agree. In such hard times one must find laughter anywhere they can find it. Thank you for reading.
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April 16, 2020 at 9:49 pm
❤️
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April 16, 2020 at 3:15 pm
Poignant!
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April 16, 2020 at 6:13 pm
🙏🏽
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April 16, 2020 at 9:59 pm
A powerful piece to write in these times.
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April 16, 2020 at 10:21 pm
“What conversation can be had between the living and the dead as graveyards fill,” this is such a haunting image, Vivian. A powerful write 💝
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April 16, 2020 at 10:35 pm
Such sorrow for those loved ones not allowed to comfort the dying. The agony. So many graves. You’re right, there are no words, Vivian.
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April 28, 2020 at 1:18 pm
No words…😟
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April 16, 2020 at 11:16 pm
I just saw a FB posting from a friend. Today was the funeral for her father, only attended by herself, her mother and uncle, sitting five feet apart; so sad.
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April 28, 2020 at 1:18 pm
Sad, sad, sad😞
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April 16, 2020 at 11:47 pm
Very sad indeed! A heartrending question? I saw on the news where they are burying unclaimed bodies in a large mass grave on an island off the mainland. So much sorrow and loss due to this outbreak.
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April 28, 2020 at 1:18 pm
That mass grave is in the USA right? So sad 😞
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April 28, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Yes, in an island off New York!
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April 29, 2020 at 10:09 am
So sad
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April 17, 2020 at 4:49 am
Nice lines: “as graveyards fill
and eyes fill” It is hard to find those right words.
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April 28, 2020 at 1:17 pm
Thanks Frank
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April 17, 2020 at 9:57 am
Gravediggers and undertakers who have been doing the job for a long time would have become used to the steady pace of life and death, but the pandemic must have thrown even the longest serving. A good question, Viv:
What conversation can be had
between the living
and the dead’?
It’s never easy to find he right words, but the virus has rendered us all speechless. My husband was so sad that he couldn’t attend his friend’s funeral yesterday.
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April 18, 2020 at 12:32 am
Oh Kim, I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s just sad.
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April 17, 2020 at 6:08 pm
I truly don’t know how gravediggers dig. Someone has to do it. What else can be said? It’s grim and sad that so many people can’t attend the internment of their loved ones.
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April 28, 2020 at 1:17 pm
So true…. it’s hard to ignore 😟
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April 17, 2020 at 9:37 pm
There is no place to put all the bodies now in NYC. It’s frightening as well as sad and grim. (K)
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April 18, 2020 at 12:36 am
Oh boy :(. I watched in Ecuador- where the bodies are left in the streets and vultures circle houses and the hospital…the government is overwhelmed!
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April 20, 2020 at 2:36 pm
There are no words and now there are no hugs either. Beautifully written.
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April 24, 2020 at 11:18 am
Thanks Chris!
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