By Filomena Nunes, MSU Facility for Rare Isotope Beams and physics professor

The Rock

From the north bank of the river
Inconspicuous, I greet it everyday
Walking up the grassy hill
Where the summer geese lay

But we’re deep in winter now
Bones frigid in dismay
I can barely turn to look
The three crosses in display

They cover it with green and white
They cover it with three names in flight
They cover it with rose and daisy
They cover it with a canopy

And we, so small?
We, who lost the meaning of it all?
We cover it with mourning tears
We cover it with anxious fears
We cover it with silent prayers

After the lunchtime walk, 21 Feb 2023