Early Morning, Left-Handed
By Hilda Raz
Lear's five nevers over
the fool hanged, and Cordelia
and Lear dead at last, Edmund
reported and yes he was loved
by both evil sisters, so what.
I'm awake in the dawn. Cold
stone floors. The cat. His
father loved him too, I tell
my son on the phone, my
son just married. Let him
cleave to his wife. Let my
old flesh resume its boundaries,
let go. No divisions of the kingdom.
Will they write of my courage
killing the snake? We know
the dreamy answer to that one.
Honey tea swirls us sweet;
never fear the village fair,
lights stay on all night.
Tea bags bottomless coffee
cup. Ashes in the grate sweeten
the garden provender. Clay.
Ripeness is all. The fool lives on,
my left elbow's cartilage feather.
Copyright Credit: Hilda Raz. "Early Morning, Left-Handed" from Trans copyright © 2001 by Hilda Raz and reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
Source: Trans (Wesleyan University Press, 2001)