States of Poetry - Poems
States of Poetry 2016 - South Australia | 'The Silence of Siskins' by Jelena Dinic
by Jelena Dinic •
for my grandfather
He circles my arrival
on the calendar.
It is late November
and it doesn't snow.
A wooden pallet
hardens his bed.
He dreams of grandmother.
He doesn't want new dreams.
Two siskins in cages –
their song frozen like the air
that other November
when she lost her heart
cleaning and baking
for those who might arrive.
Above the fireplace a few flies
are nervous company.
'Not easy on earth,' he says,
'not easy below.'
Jelena Dinic