Gail Thomas

SMALLS

They spread across tables at flea markets,

spill out of boxes, mementos from a trip

or romance, collections of salt shakers,

heirloom silver spoons. After my parents die

I find a wax paper square with my name

and hank of fine hair, box of teeth

with rust-blood roots, a hand-sewn dress.

My grandmother’s hair is wrapped in tissue,

not the curled grey helmet I knew, but a long,

golden braid. Did she cut it off when her first

child was born, too worn out to care for

one more thing? It lies curled upon itself

like a soft animal, shimmering with lights

 that must have lured her husband to unpin it

until the soft fall rained over his hands.

There are no silver cups, no engraved watches;

these smalls are stained bibs, hair and teeth

preserved like the relics my people prayed to

in the old country. Children were their saints,

the ones who would live larger, easier.

My daughters are grown.

I pare down, save the chalk drawing

of a blue horse in the desert, the scent

that rose from my baby's skin,

a small blessing.

Gail Thomas of Northampton, MA, has published three books of poetry: Waving Back; No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley; Finding the Bear. Waving Back was named a Must Read for 2016 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book and won Honorable Mention at the New England Book Festival. Her chapbook, Odd Mercy, won the Charlotte Mew Prize and is forthcoming from Headmistress Press. Gail's work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, The North American Review, and Valparaiso Poetry Review.