Love Poem: Cemetery Holds The Living
Jasmine Tsai Avatar
Written by: Jasmine Tsai

Cemetery Holds The Living

hairline chasm threads
cobweb white through obsidian—
wrapped around carved names
once warm on living tongues.

those who lived visit 
with heads down,
pretending it’s superstition—
not guilt.
     not memory.
          not fear of love ending abruptly
          in a plot of land, a handful of dates.

dusted words and 
sealed memories,
but still the obsidian 
counts
new leaves on the banyan trees.

they leave behind flowers—
           a sigh: I came.
a silence follows them home—
           petals bruised beneath their steps.