LYRIC FOR SALE

By Kate Kelleher

Father sliced into the bellies of fish
While Mother knelt at the table,
Cutting out prayers
And placing them on her lips.
She will always take back what is hers.
The holy walk
On muddy waters.

The horizon divides
Distance and time.
Tells stories of
Nearness and lines,
Of hopes and dreams
And darkening skies.

This marks the place and time
When you knew things could unwind.
And you unfold like a paper crane in the wind.
We all come undone every now and then,
Until we all come together,
Come Hell or high water.

If we go, let them say
We drowned drinking in life…
Different now than at the start,
We hope on cue, an art.
Taking life in stride,
Letting go, what’s taken by the tide.

It comes and goes in waves,
And I swear I’ll be brave.
Watermarks on the pillowcase.
My mind a graveyard of unfinished poems,
So far from the surface.

Can I find some peace
With this piece of mind,
And trace the edges
With silver lines.
I crumble more with every haunted rubble I’m shown;
Still I’m the only ghost I’ve ever known.

Let them say,
We drowned, drinking in life…
Toasting the glow of sunny days.
And it comes and goes in waves,
Watermarks on your pillowcase,
While your Mother prays
For the lives she takes.
Here we are all made of bones and clay
And Muddy water.