Rose Mary Boehm

Mother’s Day

In the wheelchair, a plaid over her lap and legs.
Speckled hands, the skin parchment dry,
the knuckles growing. She had recently
wanted to know what ‘embedded’ means.
Meant her wedding ring.
Will they saw it off?

Sunlight moves urgently
across her closed eyes.

She remembers another place where sunlight
was filtered by moving leaves.
Sees a white pudgy hand pick daisies.

 

Christmas in Morocco

The ferry from Algeciras to Tangiers.
The car in the hold. On deck a place
near the wheelhouse to kneel on the metal floor
and bend low in the direction of Mecca.
Families, Muppet-like, open and close
their faces, smearing chocolate and doughnut jam
from ear to ear, finger to thumb.
The seagulls keep pace.

Arrived in the dark. Hotel Boston
in the old town. Clean blankets, no sheets.
I wake, shivering, my travel multi-meter
says 5.00 am, six degrees below freezing.
One window was cracked.

First light. Iced-up windows distorted
my view until I breathe a melt: Men in djellabas
congregate under my window in animated conversations
I didn’t understand. Their faces hidden under hoods.
Across the narrow road a woman is hanging
sheets and blankets onto washing lines strung
from wall to wall on her roof. She wears a djellaba
against the cold, but no scarf against the men.

Damage control

Four damaged dolls
and I lived in my house.
My mother knew, but
I failed to find my affliction.

There were five damaged
lovers in my life. I failed to see
how loving could have
cut them so deeply.

My children brought each
a piece of me into this world
and, in despair, changed into toads.

I often squat in the mud by the pond
learning a new way to speak,
especially with my daughters.

 

Rose Mary Boehm is a German-born British national living and writing in Lima, Peru, and author of two novels as well as six poetry collections; her poetry has been published widely in mostly US poetry reviews (online and print). She was twice nominated for a Pushcart. Do Oceans Have Underwater Borders? (Kelsay Books July 2022) and Whistling in the Dark (Taj Mahal Publishing House July 2022), are both available on Amazon.
https://www.rose-mary-boehm-poet.com/