You arrive in the night to smash
and topple stones that mark our resting place.
This golem is cousin to the gravestones
and stands guard against vicious interlopers.

Your task is hatred in action,
but the golem cares only for truth.
This golem is inexorable stone in motion.

You drop your tools and try to run.
The golem shakes the ground,
but it’s you who seek to disturb our rest.
This golem will rend your precious flesh and bone.

He is cold as the dead and does not hear your cries
any more than we do. Your task was born of hate.
This golem also has a task, and so he sets to work.

© 2017 by Gwynne Garfinkle