Forgive the pun, but this is a poem that has really good bones. A bit of revision, with further playing around with the words and this poem will be exceedingly excellent!
For example, in the first stanza, you use the word 'ground' three times in quick succession. It is one of those words that sounds harsh and stops the reader. Perhaps a better choice might be to (as in the following,)...'To the simple cross stuck in the ground, made from two branches off a tree,' simply leave OUT the phrase 'stuck in the ground' as the reader already understands that fact.
This then reduces the use of the word and thereby gives more strength to the other two uses of it, which, were the points you wanted to make in the first place. :)
' The whole world inside that brain,'--EXCELLENT line!!!
As the reader follows along on this walk we are drawn deeper into the mind and thoughts of the author as well as treated to a more in depth look at his surroundings.
The line ' The peacefulness of the church seeping out into the old, old stones of memory.'
needs to be played with and for this reason. The image of that [peace] seeping into old stones of memory is awesome, well worded...BUT try to find a better word choice than 'peacefulness'. Your poetry is full of fresh images...a good thing...BUT when you then use a almost 'stock' word...the 'peaceful churchyard depicted on a zillion New England calendars' (for example) takes away from your poem.
Every line needs to add to the walk, to the sensations, emotions and ideas both felt and conjured there. Your core thought is so spot on that it needs to shine.
That entire stanza is a bit wordy, restating the obvious and burying the important under word choices that distract. Your earlier choices were fresh...yet
'wonderful quietness' is blah. I get the idea you are trying to convey, but the same mind that revels in the solitude of the cemetery, that sees the human-ness still in the dusty bones can do better than that. *smile* (I'm known for really pushing poets to dig deep, and polish every word and line)
The rest of that stanza that starts off so well, needs major reworking to rise to the beginning of the poem.The last line is excellent, but the middle merely seems to restate what, by now, is obvious to the reader.
The last stanza...The statements are made that no one else would do what the author does. Ah but folks do..so you need to be careful of blanket statements.
First three lines are good...
the next two could be simply deleted, or perhaps reworded to the effect of the writer saying 'they' never see anyone in there, or it 'seems' no one meanders it..or ...something. Better perhaps to shift the focus to the writer. Something along the lines of how the writer
alone seems to mix with the dead;
the passed away people
walking in solitude amongst the shadows ....
The beginning of this poem is so very strong. Yet the ending of loving the graveyard and feeling peace there simply is not matching the beginning. Again, I get the thought, but it needs more punch, more ooomph. This is a statement that , as you've already shown, is a peaceful place for the the character, that needs saying in a totally new way if it is to be repeated.
Look for some words to express this in a way that isn't so, (forgive me) overdone.
As I said before, the main thrust of this poem is excellent, and with some revision this can be a seriously well crafted poem.
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