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Poems from In the Language of Women |
Forgotten Songs | ||
for Glory Sasikala Franklin 1 Not long ago in India, the rare home radio The day would fly like that: to Vividh Bharati Never mind the distances: each station zinged in Your favorite was Pussycat’s “Broken Souvenir” 2 3 There was “Lonely Cowboy,” “Goodbye Hawaii,” “Oh, Susannah” And you sang along with him. |
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A Lost Language |
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for Natalia Sangama Pampa Hermosa, Peru She dreams in Chamicuro but remembers to speak in Spanish or no one will understand her The lake that floats near her village — a deeper azure than the sky — without her words, no one will fully know it: what poisons and obscures can not open the shining leaves She dreams in Chamicuro as her ancestors did but she is the last to feel this tongue in her mouth the last for whom exact meaning can not be expressed in Spanish Who is this grandmother but the lost soul of Peru and the Amazon unwilling to vanish? In her thatched hut, she can swing her grandchildren and laugh but she can’t keep out the pulse of salsa or stop the Spanish sun from entering like a powerful vine that winds around her throat She will be next to die to wither into brittle twigs of imagery Her grandchildren will recall a lake but it will have no name in Chamicuro. __________________________________ When she was a girl, missionaries made the Chamicuro children kneel when they used their language. At least half the world’s 6,000 languages will die out in this century. |
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Under Jerusalem's Sun | ||
for Frances Zalcberg I. 1954 When you walked to work and again when you II. 1965 But the Jordanians would not let you enter, and you climbed * * * On the slope of the mountain, you found a sheltered space “Papa,” you said, “look around. Jewish soldiers are standing guard, III. 1967 It was eerily quiet, and you moved with extreme slowness. |
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Amelia in Vietnam |
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for Amelia Haselkorn
I. Sa Pa Journeys Roosters and cicadas wakened the day. Later, you hiked to the waterfall. * * * You hammered rocks into fragments Then you swam in the river. Next morning, you devoured breakfast: Too soon, you would trek to the road * * * You were in Sapa: your village The second day was best: you helped Luckily, you survived. How else Only chocolate at the French bakery * * * You stayed with a Red Dao family — II. Hue, Hội An, Hà Nội In Hội An, you fished, farmed, cooked, Maybe what made you feverish * * * You are in Hue, and tonight * * * Yesterday, you went to the Cham ruins, You liked best the burial chamber of Khai Dinh — * * * Today, you see the War Remnants Museum At night, the shadows fade a little * * * After your adventures in Sa Pa and Hue, On your first day back, you watch a water- At night, you long to fall into your own bed again, |
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