As archaeologists, we benefit from tragedy
and the human response to it–
the interrupted meal, the sunken ship,
the broken obelisk, the bog-claimed child.
We are consumed by the bread of the grave goods,
and the fields that once nourished cities;
we marvel. We hold broken bones in our hands.

Maria Cargille wrote this story. Her desk is punctuated with lines of beach glass, one stray press block, and countless second-hand postcards.