they
kneel at their pews
before the statue
of Our Lady
in veneration
their fingers maneuvering
rosary beads
reciting the prescribed prayers
contemplating the sacred mysteries
of each decade
they used to be many
their voices rising and falling
a marian chorus
of prayers for the living
all sinners waiting for their hour
they are few now
their widowed voices muted
practiced fingers
counting beads
like their days
praying in silence
for the dead
and they
about to join them