HOLY LAND EXCAVATION

In a sunlit dig
the equipment gone
at dusk
from a few thieves
as kids wave us on
where another light
at the bottom hides
a motionless jade dish,
the dog under our legs
finds us on speckled yards
with a copy of bronze jars
an old map
on empty ground,
my field glasses
need to be washed,
an intelligence
needs new sources
with ideas for a day
when the dog locates
something of stone
we return with picks
to our expedition
excited to clear
the earthly dust
of five civilizations.