POEMS/ Lost Memories
Lost Memories
I tried to remember my ancestors,
called up their names and places,
summoned them to speak.
They came as shades and faded
back into their darkness before
I heard their stories. I tried to catch them--
the sagas of my past were lost, my parents
burying their beginnings beneath their lives
together, both offering now and then
at most a fleeting image from a past
they did not want to share.
I found a book of memories beneath
my pillow, leaves tattered, pages of the past--
old family lore, mixed with stories that are mine.
I tried to salvage what I could.
From Migrations (Antrim House, 2013)
I tried to remember my ancestors,
called up their names and places,
summoned them to speak.
They came as shades and faded
back into their darkness before
I heard their stories. I tried to catch them--
the sagas of my past were lost, my parents
burying their beginnings beneath their lives
together, both offering now and then
at most a fleeting image from a past
they did not want to share.
I found a book of memories beneath
my pillow, leaves tattered, pages of the past--
old family lore, mixed with stories that are mine.
I tried to salvage what I could.
From Migrations (Antrim House, 2013)