ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Elijah Matthew Tubbs lives and writes in Arizona. His work is forthcoming in Hobart. He is co-founder of ELKE "a little journal."
July 6, 2016
Cairn
In Iceland they build small cairns of bone
so ghosts have homes
away from the living
but are safe from weather
The air is so dark
in the desert behind our yard
One could hold it,
sip its thickness
Tonight in Arizona I build you
a cairn like an Icelander:
Sticks for strength, rosemary
to remember, and figs for taste
All held tight by a hair tie
of yours, so you can have a home
away from me
The poem "Cairn" was written after reading a few short essays by Eliot Weinberger in his collection Karmic Traces. In those essays he explores Iceland and its many myths, lore, etc. among many other things too. Anyways, he briefly wrote about these small pyramids of bone, the cairns, that are spread throughout the landscape. Supposedly they were built so the family is not haunted by the ghost of their loved ones but the ghosts are safe in the harsh Icelandic weather. I found it to be heartbreaking and oddly comforting. Perfect for a poem, I thought.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published weekly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
