Viking Burial

The skiff rides inside a wave of sand. The grave-robbers peel back the sod on the old dune & take everything but the bronze hammer of Thor, an odd coin or two & several crosses — hammers on their way to being men.

They re-bury the skeletons from seven graves in this one small craft: three males & four females, all dead before the age of 30 from disease or famine & now jumbled together like beads from a broken cord.

The pastures are poor, trees have grown scarce, the land is hungry for wood. With its sod roof back in place, the boat can melt into the soil until only the iron nails remain, orderly rows preserving the shape that faith once took.