Chris Wood

POETRY

“The Long Remembering,” read by Chris Wood.

The Long Remembering

I have lived a short time on earth
but have soaked in the stories
and pictures of my ancestors.
Their lineage and heritage
rub into my skin
when I touch heirlooms —

My fingers brush the bedside table
my great-grandfather built.
I drink from my grandmother’s teacup,
read God’s Word from a 19th century Bible,
a distant aunt’s name inscribed on the front.
I lounge on my grandfather’s Lincoln-style bed,
an inheritance carried down from his people,
also my people. I look at photographs
of my great-grandmother holding me as a baby.
I can almost feel her arms under me,
smell her breath as she coos and smiles
into my infant face.

My story started before my birth into this life.
It began eons ago all the way back to infinite
beginnings before God created time, before
He spoke the world into existence.
When there was nothing, He knew me.

“First Communion,” read by Chris Wood.

First Communion

I finger my rosary,
touch each bead
trying to remember
the words to the prayers,
a gift from the nuns
who guided me through
my first communion.
The wafer, the wine.
His body, His blood.
 
I was never good
at memorizing.
I flip through pages
of my prayer book,
some phrases familiar,
a gift from my grandparents
the day I wore a white dress,
veil flowing over my dirty
blonde hair, and my shiny white shoes.

Chris Wood manages numbers by day, spends most evenings cleaning up dog hair from the abundance of love she receives from her fur-babies, and in between, she writes to balance her right brain from her left. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and works for a REIT. Her work has appeared in several journals and publications, including Poetry Quarterly, Black Moon Magazine, and Salvation South. Learn more at chriswoodwriter.com.

Next (Emma McCoy) >
< Previous (Tommy Welty)

Image from PickPik.