Introduction to the family

Billows of

         meticulously applied redded glosses       demurely demonstrative entrance

           dulcet impressions from flour-coated fingers       ingenuous initial greeting

             consorts forgotten to blue tombs        fortress of long-nurtured wonders cloaked

               by four guarded corners       slender regrets over much-sought delayed appearances 

                 hints of the ascents to mountains of previous mantras

directed toward

               emulsified dips into flavored lives       glancing interrogatory gestures

                 convivial comments on an invitation to a rite of rejuvenation       mildly

                   contorted memories       bashful confessions       pounded strips of dough

                     dangled from beams across the family ledger       basement bottles decanting

                       murmured undertones       eyes turning to downgazing diplomas and silver prints

                         pop songs of fifty years almost rendered       served-up mythologies drained of taints

                           reputations lost to mindwrapped kitchen scraps       high church indulgences and candied 

                             nuts under the chandelier

resulting in

                  slowly envisioned generations       thankful rests from entanglements

                    with large-taloned devils       droll anecdotes about an eventually interred

                      poet       pacts concluded with clinks over library Scotch       fresh instruments

                        tuned to the reverberations from the hearth       hours in oncologist waiting rooms

                         encyclicals plucked from the fireplace or from drenching shades of sleet       quiet

                           remnant colors adopted by all parties to the inheritance       ultimately unnegotiated love

Andy Oram is a writer and editor in the computer field. His editorial projects have ranged from a legal guide covering intellectual property to a graphic novel about teenage hackers. Print publications where his writings have appeared include The Economist, the Journal of Information Technology & Politics, and Vanguardia Dossier. He has lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area for 50 years. His poems have appeared in more than 60 journals and anthologies.