Inside the Chest: poem by Tamar Zhghenti

Here is the latest poem by Rainy Day Healing Poet in Residence Tamar Zhghenti

When I read the title of Tamar’s new poem, my first thought was of a heart – maybe beating, maybe beaten, maybe broken, maybe bleeding. It evoked memories before had even read the first line. Read it as you wish … - Martina, October 2024

INSIDE THE CHEST

Fishtail braids and a lace collar, gazing sidelong —

Can't recognize you, Mom!

Funny this picture should be at Dad’s,

and inside this wooden chest as well,

right alongside his for-funeral photo.

Pencil moustache, military cut and all,

yet he feels familiar unlike you,

even though I first saw Dad already bearded and old.

How snug, how odd! —

Like a brown pansy beneath a snowy oak,

Your petite sepia portrait

rests below his grand monochrome.

"Your dad is dead. To us both.

No matter when he goes to the grave, son."

That's all you ever gave me, Mom.

No facts, no clues.

And now, look at you! Locked side by side

In the earthy scent of aged cellulose.

Who arranged it this way, Mom?

Not his missus, for sure.

It’s your doing, Dad, I know.

"Didn't trouble you in life, and I won't in death,

This chest holds all I'll need when I pass." —

And here they are, your final needs, neatly grouped:

A flannel suit. Veteran medals. Brogue shoes.

The exclusive right of burial. A roll of banknotes.

Even the guest list for the funeral,

and the portrait, of course.

But what the hell is she doing here, Dad?

"When you leave, you leave for good," —

is what you said.

So, why this sudden change of heart?

Or were you keeping her inside all these years?

And how am I to bury all this now?

Can't be. Not Mom. Doesn't look like. No.

OCTOBER 2024

INSIDE THE CHEST: OCTOBER 2024 in Rainy Day Healing website

Tamar Zhghenti: Facebook

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Poet: Tamar Zhghenti, 2024

MARTINA NICOLLS

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Martina Nicolls is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris.

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