Auntie - by
My Aunt’s hands are soft and brown
and they smell like cumin and coriander.
She is a gardener in the kitchen.
families
My Papa’s Waltz
The whiskey on your breathCould make a small boy dizzy;But I hung on like death:Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pansSlid from the kitchen shelf;My mother’s countenanceCould not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wristWas battered on one knuckle;At every step you missedMy right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time […]
Personal History: For My Son - by
for my son
/
/ O my heart is the unlucky heir of the ages
/ And my body is unwillingly the secret agent
/ Of my…
The House Where I Was Born - by
The ghosts are easy. I can switch them on
/ like a tv soap. Here’s Pa going up the stairs,
/ flip flap,…
Beannacht / Blessing - by
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
Mum - by
We sat together in silence.
/ The lost look in your eyes.
/ Once they were like eternal stars.
/
/ You were full of joy and…
Twenty-eight Weeks - by
We nearly missed her.
/ This little storm of life,
/ could have blown by
/ before we weathered her.
/ But here she is: sturdy,
/ definite, pointing her…
An Suaimhneas Bruaillein - by
’S ann ri ur seanair Dòmhnall Buachaille
/ a bha sibh a’ bruidhinn a-raoir
/ thuirt sibh rium.
/
/ Ann an aisling no an soillearachadh seòmair…
from Finding My Grandparents In the Peloponnese - by
x
/
/ On one face, the cistern built by the Turks,
/ now holding only dust and darkness
/ below its stone vault, where Monemvasía’s
/
/ rocky…
The Cotter’s Saturday Night - by
O Scotia! my dear, my native soil! / For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent, / Long may…
My Rival’s House - by
is peopled with many surfaces.
/ Ormolu and gilt, slipper satin,
/ lush velvet couches,
/ cushions so stiff you can’t sink in.
/ Tables polished clear enough…
Keeping Orchids - by
The orchids my mother gave me when we first met
/ are still alive, twelve days later. Although
/
/ some of the buds remain…