affinity for the dead

knew a man who went to
cemeteries &
he took photos of the gravestones---
while this is most certainly
not a unique way of finding serenity,
it is one that brings to light
the affinity of the dead,
for there, this man was tranquil
he found peace with those who
have finally been allowed peace,
with those whose lives have finally
ended &
whose personalities have been
eliminated, bringing all stress, drama &
tension to a screeching halt---
this is not to say that while
taking such beautiful black & whites,
that he did not ponder the lives of
each & every one of his “subjects,”
by assessing the size of their stones,
the placement of the stones in the
lot &
the material with which the stones were
made---all helping him to build a
vague character sketch of each individual
now laid to rest.

like anything, there were drawbacks
to the meditative grave photography,
for there were all the things that family
members left at the graves, which
made him feel less loved than he had felt,
prior to entering the cemetery in question---
and he wondered, as many of us do,
what would become of him after he left
that cemetery, he wondered just what
really had been the point of going there
in the first place, he wondered what in
his life specifically had led him to be one
who at this time in his life found it
comforting to spend long stretches at a
time in cemeteries, taking photos of
the quiet & stationary, he wondered
about where it all would go, where it all
might lead & in the end,
his only conclusions were
that he’d be stuffed in an urn or
crammed in a box like the rest of em’
soon enough &
the beauty would be that there’d be no need
to have any more questions
on the subject,
so perhaps his affinity
came hand in hand with jealousy,
perhaps it came hand in hand with
envy---

perhaps.