Grave

I work at Rosehill cemetery. I dig graves. It’s fun because I like to dig fresh dirt. The amazing thing is I never get tired. Sometimes I have to dig over twenty-five graves and my arms never get tired.

I’ve met other grave diggers and they tell me they get exhausted after digging ten graves, and they want to know my secret. I tell them about how much I adore the smell of fresh dirt, and the sound of the shovel cutting through the dirt and clay, and seeing the different colors of sediment. But they don’t understand. They want to know my techniques of the angle of the shovel, and whether I use certain oils to lubricate the metal.

I say, “I don’t know. But I know this. One day, I’ll end up digging my best grave ever. And when I’m done, I’ll stand over the grave, feel my life ebb, as I fall in with a sense of pride and completion.”