We Gather Together

Covid, hush!

we won’t let you scare us

hurt us anymore

go away

While we smile at the baby moon

hold our sweet grandchild

We will gather together

like kernels on the harvest corn

we will give thanks

for all that’s good

even from six feet

or a world away

The Covid Baby’s Steady Gaze

Your head didn’t crown
when you came,
cut out like an organ
in the surgical ward
Only your parents
held your tiny warm flesh
covered in red hair like Esau
a warm blanket of Irish lore

When your daddy, was born
Saint Patrick’s Day,1986,
large family filled the room
like gypsies
held him against breasts and chests
tears tumbled like the thousand fountains of Aix-en-Provence
We formed concentric circles
as we worshiped
God’s face in his gaze

You, Henry Samuel,
are as brave
as an Indian woman
squatting by herself
burying blood, umbilical cord
in the hummus of a forest floor

You came with blue eyes grounded
into a pandemic world
But there will be an afterbirth,
Grandson,
I promise
I swear I do

Now, you nestle against a masked father
nurse from a mother’s lonely breast
while we quarantine in fear and anguish
spread like lime dust
in homes and and kitchens
wait by the phone
to learn of your birth

Still, we are large
your gypsy family
concentric circles
though far away
We worship you
from afar and distant
We swoon like charismatics
when we get the call
We dance
We sing
We sway

Your strength
like Samson
lifts pillars
brings buildings down

We honor you,
O brave one
Your bold red hair
Your steady blue gaze

Kya and Amanda

Kya stands tall, black hair streaming to her waist while the seagulls circle on the marsh.

She throws cornbread in the air as they swoop and fetch, her spine straight.

Amanda buys ice.

Little do I know it’s for her cooler. Her spine is straight too as strong lean arms toss the bag in the back.

Later, i will figure out–slow as I am–she has no refrigerator. 

But dignity resides in her Being.

She is self-reliant, figures it out as she goes.

Aren’t we all? Ultimately?

Figuring it out as we go?

Kya and Amanda, show me.

May my spine straighten as I observe thee.