liminalities by josephine lore

my sister held your hand as you drew
your last and told me
your touch faded
finger by finger
until only in
her pinkie
and then
gone
but
papa’
I feel you
differently
in dawn air drawn
into lungs newborn sky
strisce di bianco in un cielo azzurro
a flurry of sparrows rising into beech tree
and echoing your whistle il frischietto del cardinale


This poem was published by the League of Canadian Poets in Fresh Voices #27 in November, 2022.