We sixty-three stomped in en masse to tidy up the graves. Hundreds of Canada geese already grooming the grounds lifted as one into the air, circled, scolded.

We finished in record time, dried wreaths, wilted flowers piled by the curbs.

Eighty thousand graves freshened ’til Memorial Day. Rest in peace.

rJo Herman dreams of writing one perfect tale her grandchildren will pass down to their grandchildren. She lives with her grey-striped companion, Emil Catt, I, in the Colorado high desert.

Editor’s Note: Martin Luther King day was on January 21. I apologize for seeing this story too late to post it on that date…