Unavoidable

The sun is high in the sky,
The grass flows like a blanket of emerald between the ashen stones.

I walk through such a solemn place,
But only I seem to be aware of what is lying beneath the surface.

Past the names of the many deceased,
Mothers and Fathers stolen from children,
Brothers and sisters carelessly taken,
Grandparents that slowly withered away,
Babies to early ripped from the earth,
I think of all those people,
Having their loved ones tore from the world with no second thought.

Do I stop a minute to mourn these faceless strangers?
Or do I only look at my feet?
Not daring to read the names of the fallen,
Not acknowledging the forgotten lives,
The stones that are coated in dirt and grime,
The ones that so obviously haven’t been visited in years,
Or should I completely divert from the path right in front of me.

Walking, just to avoid all the loves and lives lost?
All in attempt to avoid the only thing unavoidable,
Death.