THEGOLDPOETRY PROJECT

fist image

Power &
Resistance

submit a poem
musicsheets image

Time, Memory &
Legacy

cntower image

Place &
Belonging

butterfly image

Self &
Identity

My grandmother's poems

VIVIANE BRIAND,

61 yrs

LAC-SUPERIEUR, QC

I found the old book of poems you wrote
inked in elegant cursive
ancient scriptures buried deep
each poem unveiling a piece of your untold story
each verse a silent cry that went unheard
a tale untold of a wife who endured
a husband's dark and unpredictable moods
an entire life kept silent
I add fresh ink to yours
casting a healing balm over old wounds
new words to erase the final traces
of trauma from my own hands
so that one day
my grand daughter may turn these
same pages
unscarred and unscathed by her lineage
to stand fierce and free
in the warm glow of her own light

Keeping

JAIK JOSEPHSON,

65 yrs

BEAUSEJOUR, MB

I reach for you in dream
Slow withering arms across an empty bed
I hug air and try
To keep where you would be

Slow withering arms across an empty bed
Hear your voice and find sandalwood sleep
To keep where you would be
I’ve gotten slow to untangle from the home we made

I hear your voice and find sandalwood sleep
Nod off and into that same story of us
I’ve gotten slow to untangle from the home we made
But always comes a cruel morning to seize this nestle

Nod off and into that same story of us
I hug air and try
But always comes a cruel morning
to seize this nestle I reach for you in dream

Sensuality

Darlene Romanko,

64 yrs

Peachland, BC

movement in delight
radiates beauty
awakens me to
imitate what it's like
to be a goddess
in a godless time

aware of the dance
called aging
body and mind
leading and following
choreographed steps
in life's decline