Jeg elsker deg by Lisa Zaran
Thank you, father, for all the books
you left me when you died.
For all the letters you never sent,
each one addressed to mother.
Thank you for the 3 shotguns missing
their important parts, even the police
said they were useless but would
dispose of them for me.
Thank you for the notebooks
of inventory you kept so neat,
each sale in blue, each return in red.
Reading your profit margin brought
me to wisdom. Who can live off sixty five dollars?
I could not fully understand.
Thank you for the tiny drawings
you made on scraps of loose leaf paper,
some reminded me of ideas unrealized-
as if you knew where the mind ends
and nature begins.
Thank you, also, for the small embraces
you gave me along the way.
So few and far between yet so profound.
Arm around my shoulders,
sturdy fingers tucking raggedy hair
behind my ears, light kiss on the forehead,
the freedom to say, I love you
leaps from my heart and my throat now
like museum tears.
Lisa Zaran is an American poet, essayist and author of six collections. Current work can be found or is upcoming in A Little Poetry, Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k), Juked and the anthology Not A Muse. She is the founder and editor of Contemporary American Voices.
