When Luis sleeps he hears
an ocarina played soft as a lullaby.
He remembers green heat
his grandmother’s constant chatter
a thousand words a minute.
He wakes to a chill English dawn,
staccato bursts of unfamiliar birdsong,
a sore neck where he’s curled
seeking warmth, his fingers
still suffused with onion.
Tears come to his eyes.
He shoulders the day
reminds himself he’s lucky
to be free. Finding kitchen work
in this land of asylum.
Caroline M. Davies was born in Norfolk to Welsh parents and her childhood was spent moving between East Anglia and Anglesey. She started taking poetry seriously in 2004. Her poems have won prizes in a number of competitions and have been widely published in magazines and anthologies in Britain. She lives with her husband and two small sons in a village in Buckinghamshire.
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Posted on March 25, 2009 in Poems
14 Responses to “REMEMBER TO LIVE • by Caroline M. Davies”
Comments
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March 25th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Beautifully crafted, excellent poem of a brave facing of new and alien surroundings and way of life which is seen by the transferred character as a shift to coldness away from the warm sounds of his childhood, yet who will bravely act in favor of life and find a place for himself.
Hasta Manyana, Good Abide
March 25th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Caroline, this is hauntingly disturbing. I did enjoy the read.
March 25th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
This has a lingering odor of beauty. A brief moment about a lifelong emotion of contentment found in strife.
March 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I like this very much. You have captured the heart and mind of the unwilling, lonely expatriate.
March 25th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
A very beautiful poem; five from me!
March 26th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Very well done. Catches well the emotions of the immigrant, the irony and drama of the situation – leaving home for what one thought would be a better life.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:21 am
Beautiful.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:38 am
Very nice.
March 26th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
5*****
–dj
March 30th, 2009 at 9:02 am
This is both haunting and beautiful. Well written, Caroline.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:37 am
Lovely, Caroline. 5!
March 31st, 2009 at 11:06 am
Achy. I particularly liked
“He shoulders the day
reminds himself he’s lucky
to be free.”
nice one, Caroline.
April 1st, 2009 at 1:01 am
Lovely poem, Caroline – 5.
April 1st, 2009 at 5:09 am
Beautiful writing. So much said in so few words.