‘First Breath’, ‘No Magic in the World’ & ‘What You Left Behind’
Alfonso Keller-Casielles
First Breath
quietly lying beneath the dew of an awakening
journeying into lands yet to be
she is still, within the smile of a warmer solstice
given to the universe in her vulnerable pose
fingers bent upon the soft palms
her chest heaves below the gentle cocoon
patiently awaiting in the uncommon bliss
her features teased by the rays of a new star
she remains listening for the sign of a new life
in perfect restful unison, he too is alert
to the imperceptible motion
a change in the heat of the season.
the aroma of far-away lands tickles her senses
her hand seeks reassurance
together they feel a gentle trepidation.
No Magic in the World
Chaos and a few lucky encounters
and she walks up the aisle in her gown
maybe royalty perhaps a borrowed miracle.
It’s time now to fly to northern climes
from the warm hearth of a mother’s nest
she twirls in a waltz she invented.
Soon to be alone with the little one
the future is easy to predict
when the light will grow dimmer at home.
Matriarch of these two mere decades
she will settle in worrisome rest
contemplating her image in duplicate.
It is time now for the girl to walk on
quickly gazing back at the reassuring smile
woman she too will build an estate.
Friend and mom she sees her image
so young yet so confident in the flesh
there is no turning back the silly hands on the clock.
What You Left Behind
I watch the garden change my mother
where the earth has been turned many times since
you walked away from your beloved fields
a world you could enter with unending grace.
Into the barn it seems every corner recalls
the sound of the hammer and the saw
as you built my father another shed to
those furry animals you cared for like no other.
Near the hearth I recall the fragrance
of those meals you imagined for my childhood
granny as you aged in timeless decades
your braided hair often wild as a teen’s.
I seek you in every room dear siblings
when you return to your home so far away
to find but a few lines in the dust of my road
abandoned rappers of a sweet delight.
Your lives are saved in layers of time
like coats of paint in an ageless palimpsest
a quilt visible only to those who knew you
with every piece a jolt to a slowing heart.
Fabrice Poussin’s work in poetry and photography has appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide. Most recently, his collections of poetry In Absentia, If I Had a Gun, Half Past Life, and The Temptation of Silence were published in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Silver Bow.
