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Home Poetry Beauty

‘Passing Through a Graveyard’: A Poem by Robert Nachtegall

October 28, 2024
in Beauty, Poetry
A A
11
poems 'Passing Through a Graveyard': A Poem by Robert Nachtegall

.

Passing Through a Graveyard

Marred old friends whose breath has passed
Are cold friends whose breadth I pass.
Some I pray they pray for me.
Some they pray I pray them free.
Hewn in granite where was wrought
Endings lest they be forgot.

.

.

Robert Nachtegall is an operations director in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has also published in The Imaginative Conservative and Agape Review.

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Comments 11

  1. C.B. Anderson says:
    2 years ago

    When this poem sinks in, it really sinks in. This is not graveyard humor, but rather graveyard straight talk, etched in granite. How will we be remembered?

    Reply
  2. Robert Nachtegall says:
    2 years ago

    Thank you C.B.

    Reply
  3. Bob Elkins says:
    2 years ago

    Poignant reminder of past trips to a cemetery. Thank you for the heartfelt thoughts.

    Reply
  4. Robert Nachtegall says:
    2 years ago

    Thanks Bob. I’ve always appreciated cemeteries. They’re wonderful places for reflection.

    Reply
  5. Paul A. Freeman says:
    2 years ago

    Poignant piece, Robert.

    I like the way the poem with its title looks like a squat gravestone.

    Thanks for the read.

    Reply
    • Robert Nachtegall says:
      2 years ago

      Thanks Paul. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  6. Rusty Rabon says:
    2 years ago

    Robert, I had a college professor who once told a class that, to gain perspective on life, he would walk through a graveyard and read the headstones or markers. He said that this helped him understand that one day all the things he thought were so important will be over and forgotten.

    Thanks for the poem!

    Reply
    • Robert Nachtegall says:
      2 years ago

      Thanks Rusty. I too have spent many hours walking graveyards. I find them good reminders of the brevity of life and to make good use of the time remaining.

      Reply
  7. Margaret Coats says:
    2 years ago

    Admirably paired lines, Robert. We are soon to pass into that privileged time not to forget those in need, but pray them free.

    Reply
    • Robert Nachtegall says:
      2 years ago

      Thank you for the kind words Margaret.
      I’ve been a visitor for some time on SCP and always admired your work. It resonates a profound faith I hope to learn from.

      Reply
      • Margaret Coats says:
        2 years ago

        Thank you for this, Robert. I greatly appreciate knowing it, and hope for interaction here at the Society in the future.

        Reply

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