Michelle Reale
Michelle Reale is the author of several collections of poetry, most recently In the Year of Hurricane Agnes (Alien Buddha Press, 2022) and teaches poetry in the MFA program at Arcadia University.
THE OLD COUNTRY
The difference between a sarcophagus and an altar is pure intention. The dip and sway of
grief can be prismatic in its display. There were good people for whom dying was not an
option and tried to make the best of it. The old man who combed his hair in the mirror
one morning and was found later that evening lying on the cold tile in his bathroom might
have called himself lucky. The old women, in remembrance, wore clothing so black, they
blocked out the sun. Tradition is a twisted foot wedged in the heavy door of unbecoming.
Strong coffee poured into miniscule porcelain cups can keep sorrow at bay for only so
long. Oh, but the bitter, bitter taste it leaves on the parched and ridged tongue.
