print previewback JUDY HALEBSKY
Making Shore
When they talk of those who are here only in spirit
they are speaking of my father
he is in Vancouver tonight and not at La Peña
cheering the release of Fernando Gonzalez from prison
barrel hitch, timber hitch, blood knot to mend a broken line
the Cuban Five are free and back in Havana
my father is with them
in his seafaring apartment
where he comes in and out with brine
and a rusted anchor
no one will cut the rigging
when a stranger comes to the door, I don’t answer
it’s either a neighbor or a church lady
come to tell me that I can believe in science
and still be a Seventh-day Adventist
opiate of the masses—cool my veins, numb my heart
lift me from here—alpine butterfly
bowline, water knot, clove hitch
I carry bags home from the store
sit out on the porch
listen to his voice on the answering machine
he says, you are never home 
Making Shore