—for Ryllis of St. Kitts
Cum. E be clear fishin’ an day bright,
sun up strong breath an fresh light.
Me friend, paw paw an water nut for you.
Morn come a crowin’. Milky milky. Love vine. Bamboo.
E’ryting ripe breadfruit green, sugar cane tie togeder,
lime, palm leaf, a shadow of heather.
Silence de ocean an large birds of prey,
one by one de lamps tickle out across de bay.
E be time, me luv, time to waken,
time to prayin’, time to tellin’, time for bakin’.
Cum. E be clear start an day clear bright,
early o’clock strong breath an fresh light.
Michael H. Brownstein’s work has appeared in The Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, Free Lunch, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, Poetrysuperhighway.com, and many other places. His nine poetry chapbooks include A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004), What Stone Is (Fractal Edge Press, 2005), I Was a Teacher Once (Ten Page Press, 2011), Firestorm: A Rendering of Torah (Camel Saloon Press, 2012), The Possibility of Sky and Hell: From My Suicide Book (White Knuckle Press, 2013) and most recently, The Katy Trail, Mid-Missouri, 100 Degrees Outside and Other Poems (Kind of Hurricane Press, 2013).