Prairie Cemetery

by G.W. Thomas

We came on it by surprise
No one knew who had lived there in the old days
Just a plot ten paces by ten
Surrounded by a white picket fence
Six graves 
The old wooden markers bore no paint now
The names lost
Then we looked closer at the little heaps
Each housing a long lost pioneer
The man who worked from dawn to dark
His wife who worked even after he slept
The first baby who died of chill
The second who was still born
The third killed by a horse
The fourth, a girl who lived to become a woman
But died of the fever,
But wait—a seventh grave
Unmarked, but surrounded by a ring of pebbles
Each bearing an arcane sign
We came on it by surprise
But one left swiftly and with intent
No one knew who had lived there in the old days
No one wanted to.

About the author: G. W. Thomas has appeared in over 400 different books, ezines and print magazines, including Writer's Digest, The Writer, Black October Magazine and Contact. Watch for "A Primer For Horror Writing" in THE WRITER (April 2008) His website is www.gwthomas.org