grandmother’s departure
voices skim her ears
sooth her mind beyond lost meanings
and gentle fingers press unpressured love
onto her translucent skin
her days of tending, baking, mending, making
birthing, nursing, shrouding, binding
met so many needs
touched so many lives
she is loved
will be remembered
by kith, kin and strangers
who cradle her with gratitude
as River Styx flows to claim her
and Charon takes her in his arms
as voices skim her ears beyond lost meanings
she sails over
lives on as long
as memories endure
Notes:
River Styx – in Greek myth, the river between the living and the underworld
Charon – also known as The Ferryman, rows the dead over the River Styx
Hearing: It is believed that hearing is the last sense to go when someone dies
Gurfa
What is this gurfa?
A softened Gurkha,
or barfi sweets from India
or maybe Mandalay?
Perhaps a child’s attempts
to name their Grandfa -
Gurfa, the nearest sound she can make.
Will the Gur go fa away,
will the sound stay or stray …
No, Gurfa is a holy handful
cupped, of eau de vie, of life.
Note:
Gurfa pronounced goo-hr-fah is an Arabic word. It means the amount of water that can be scooped up in a hand
Ceinwen writes short stories and poetry. She is widely published in web magazines and in print anthologies. She was Highly Commended in the Blue Nib Chapbook Competition [Spring 2018], won the Hedgehog Press Poetry Competition ‘Songs to Learn and Sing’. [August 2018]. Her first chapbook was published in July 2019: 'Cerddi Bach' [Little Poems], a Stickleback by Hedgehog Press. She was a winner in the Nicely Folded Paper Pamphlet Competition July 2019 and her first pamphlet is due to be published 2019/20. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Newcastle University, UK (2017). She believes everyone’s voice counts.