Pine Mountain Cemetery XXII
        Romeo and Juliet

Nodding over his Shakespeare, straying
Eyes glazed, earflaps secure so nothing
Slipped in, the boy missed the warning.

It was right there two kids flaunting rules
And tradition, reaching for sweet fruit not
Yet ripe in spite of all they knew was right.

Marrying young was almost the rule where
This one grew and played and finally strayed
Into territory not open for one white like him.

Oh, she was pretty, not doubt of that, amber
Skin, soft brown eyes, smile from there to here.
Music seemed as much apart of her as air.

Fell head over heels he did and only a kid
She did too, a bit older, but not enough. Families
Shocked, hurt, screamed at both. The day

Of brown and white entwined forbidden by every
Side. If they had read their Shakespeare and
Taken it to heart this lot would hold no stone.

Yet, not demands, an accident ends the dream,
Closed windows, cold night, warm car and sleep,
The long unintended sleep of mere children.

We don’t tell it much these days, story best
Untold in our modern climes, but strange
To say Shakespeare still holds so little sway.

The slightest difference, feud, or tongue
Splits apart not just families but kingdoms
Too. Five hundred years may change hearts

And minds of man. We will wait and see
Under stones much like these with stories 
Told of us who made the same mistakes.