Gifts
by Patrice Boyer Claeys
From Mother: a crystal
bowl—sleek sides
tapering to weighted base
lead-heavy, incised,
its clean design bright
on the counter. For
condiments, she said.
Her aim was to emboss
time, add pleasure to both
guest and host, of which
she’d never had enough.
For Daughter: a simple
cup—carved from
the hardwood’s heart,
hollowed from old growth
trimmed and palmed,
smelling of sweet sap.
For sorrows, I said,
her birthright’s toll.
My gesture meant to hold
the swells, contain woes,
enclose her quicksilver soul.
After years in publishing and PR, Patrice Boyer Claeys joined Plumb Line Poets, of Evanston, Illinois, and completed her first book, “Lovely Daughter of the Shattering,” soon out from Kelsay Books. Work appears in Clementine Unbound, YDP, Postcard Poems and Prose, Typishly, Open: Journal of Arts & Literature, and Light – Journal of Photography & Poetry. Patrice reads for and contributes to the Mom Egg Review and has been nominated for Best of the Net.