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At Our Lady of Perpetual Memory,
funereal fads can be followed for centuries.
Nineteenth century watch houses
and mortsafes are slowly replaced
by lasercut urns and polished stones.

Twenty-first century tombstone
tapestries of digital memories
line well-kept cobblestone walkways,
holographic reproductions
of deceased loved ones set in stone.

The holograms move in silence except
for wind gossiping with Arbor Vitae,
but push a button and poignant recollections
clamor for attention, though a virus
of virtual moss grows over their mouths.

 

Copyright © 2001 Sandra J. Lindow

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During the fall of 2000, Sandra Lindow and her family lived with four other families and 80 college students in Dalkeith House, a seen-better-days palace in Scotland. Her rambles through old cemeteries inspired this poem. Her previous poem in Strange Horizons can be found in our Archive.



Sandra J. Lindow (lindowleaf@gmail.com) lives on a hilltop in Menomonie, Wisconsin, where she teaches, writes, edits, and competes with wildlife for rights to her vegetables and perennials. She has six books of poetry. The Hedge Witch's Upgrade, her seventh book, is presently in the production process. Read more at www.wfop.org/poets/lindowsa.html. You can find more of her past work in our archives.
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