Two Things Made Her Smile.

[Pete Ak]

Nana creaked around,
filling her world with selflessly,
her eyes brimful of loss
and ancient wisdom.
Two things made her smile,
Love of God and breathing.
Once, in Mass, after Father Charles said something funny,
she slapped her thighs and laughed so hard
she almost ran out of breath.
I remember burying my nose in her plump folds.
Even now, the aroma of freesias
and steamed plum pudding evokes eternity.
She taught me to see where
selfishness and dishonesty
scours the texture of the world
til it gets so thin that
I must take care not to rip it
and let emptiness in.


O r i g i n a l.
Nana creaked her way around,
memoried eyes brimming ancient.
Two things made her smile:
Love of God and breathing.
Tales tippy-tapped from her
butterscotch-syrup lips.
I buried my nose into her folds
and smelled eternity.
She taught me to see
where the world’s texture
is so very, very thin;
That I must take care
not to rip it
and let emptiness in.