GHOSTS, a Poem from THE SPLINTERED FACE TSUNAMI POEMS

I just received my first copies of The Splintered Face Tsunami Poems. The official release date is January 2008. Here is one of the poems.


GHOSTS

The ghosts will need food,
bed sheets, towels,
birthdays celebrated,
children washed, clothed.

They will require white
candles, low-cut wicks,
nothing ostentatious,
a small altar, table

in the living room,
in a corner, to keep
an eye on the children
as they study and dream,

put flesh on their arms,
become young men
and women, get drunk,
fall in love.

The ghosts will
not leave us
to grow up
unattached, alone.



--c) 2007 Indran Amirthanayagam



Some of the proceeds from the book will be donated to tsunami relief.
You can order the book now from bookstores, the publisher Hanging Loose (there's a link in this blog), or on line.