For Mum and Denis
*
‘The wings we have are so fragile
they can break from just
one word, or
a glance void
of love.’
Catherine of Siena, ‘Hymns of the Earth’, 1379
*
send a voice
into the void,
into the family mire
send a voice,
a rich voice,
full of diphthongs and pitch,
telling our story,
our family story,
ephemeral, unique,
a poignant spasm of time
send a voice to the ground
where my mother and brother are laid,
that patch of earth,
that suburban ground,
devoid of tenor,
inert,
ripened by remorse,
leavened by love
send a prayer
to consecrate its tumult
send a sign
that all that was not said
is said now
send a sign
that all that was forgotten
is now remembered
and revered
*