Musings in a Cemetery

In October we went with the American Birding Association to see birds at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma, San Diego. It was a beautiful day, and the cemetery was full of lively, colorful birds, mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers and Western Bluebirds. At the same time, row after row of graves was very sad, especially when I started reading the headstones and saw how many of the dead were so young. I was moved to write a short poem:

Endless rows of graves
Thousands served and died too young
Stone perches for birds

A Short Poem on the Meaning of Life

Sea to shining sea
All this is your time, your turn
To enjoy and care