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States of Poetry 2016 - South Australia | 'The Silence of Siskins' by Jelena Dinic

by
States of Poetry South Australia - Series One

States of Poetry 2016 - South Australia | 'The Silence of Siskins' by Jelena Dinic

by
States of Poetry South Australia - Series One

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


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