Ruth Parker
In Memory of Aunt Katie
I bless her for her tales,
the gods were personalities for me:
powerful Zeus, jealous Athene,
beautiful Aphrodite.
Odysseus was a wily neighbour
up to his clever tricks
during his daring voyages.
I bless her for her stories
invented on the spot
the clumsy centipede
encumbered by his many boots
which he took off too noisily
enraging all the lodgers down below
making us both howl with laughter.
I bless her for her jokes,
the games with words we played
and for her care of me
I bless her.
She had tumultuous rages
not against me,
against her troubled life
with Hitler knocking at the door –
but for her tales
I bless her
as I write.
Page(s) 45
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