Rose in the Graveyard

I want to lay a rose on your grave

See your name carved upon the stone

Run my fingers over the words

Loving father, grandfather, husband, and friend

Yet you are, were, so much more

An elder

Respectable, respected, and respectful

But your time had come

You had to leave

Your time on Earth was up

But what hurt most

Was not that you were gone

But that you never got my thank you note

For the Christmas present I loved

You didn't get to see me graduate the eighth grade

And that you never made up with him

My uncle

Your only son

I know you forgive him

And he forgives you

But still

It hurts the most

And now

When I want to lay a rose on your gravestone

I can't

Because you have none

So instead

I'll throw a rose in the ocean

And watch it float away

Just as your ashes did that day