Granny's Quilt Poem by Sofiul Azam

for my mother

he shows me a photo of his granny seven years dead
clasps it closer to his heart the collier of memories
then electric lights go out and candles are lit on
i see his hands fumble for something else in the dark

back home i think of my granny long eaten up by worms
as we swallow pilaff and roasted chicken in an oriental feast
i always sort of capered like claves in my childhood
i loved granny a thousand times more than my mother

never say - she's just a pile of bones that no wonder gives
she still lingers on becoming more than grace falling on me
even if i have thrown wasted memories out into a ditch
her name is never to be scratched out from my list

she leaves no photos as i have seen in my any granny's case
only an embroidered white quilt to wrap around me
knowing it acts like a soldier on patrol fighting for peace
like a weapon for warmth against the coming cold


from IMPASSE (2003)