Drowning The Graveyards Poem by Robert Rorabeck

When I saw you standing there, I knew that this was America.
The sea encroaching like an unwanted lover,
Shimmering with its cenotaphs of conquistadors-
The crowds gathering separated by infinitesimal lovers.
Hands reaching out, dividing like starfish infinitely wounded,
Recreating the reciprocities of an untouchable classroom:
Seeing him attempting to pin a corsage on the hem of
Her phosphorescent dress:
Like a weeping bouquet dredged from a mortally wounded womb:
Here they are roaring with the silence,
Moving forward too fast to remember- In pauses, holding out to our children,
The shopping malls devoid upon midnight,
So in-glittered drools the eggplant mouths upon pillows-
A noise embittered with silence,
Our flags whipping as the mane of the animal who stands still,
A river drowning the graveyards.