It's Still Life

The Letter A

I still hear the sound of a spoon
against the side of a granite pestle.

I’m in Mum’s kitchen.
I wasn’t raised in this house,
so it’s not our kitchen,

and she tells me that she’s
the only one of her siblings
whose name doesn’t begin
with the letter M.

Madeline,
Margaret,
Millie, and then of course
there’s Robert.

Mum says that’s because
she has a different father,
so her dad chose her name.

He chose to claim her as his own,
and gave her a name of beginnings.

A mark of life.
The first breath of air.
Lungs of ones soul.

He named her Aleph.

And I’m thinking about
when she told me this,
and why she told me this.
It’s not about a name.

And I see another tangle of fringe
being woven into my fabric.
Another piece found.
Another loop.

And I still hear the sound of a spoon
against the side of a granite pestle.

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Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text or captioned. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.