October 2015
Barbara Goldberg
barbaragoldberg8@gmail.com
barbaragoldberg8@gmail.com
I am the author of four prize-winning books of poetry, including The Royal Baker’s Daughter, winner of the Felix Pollak Poetry Award. My most recent book is Scorched by the Sun, translations of poems by the Israeli poet Moshe Dor. The recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowships as well as awards in translation, fiction and speechwriting, I am Series Editor of the Word Works’ International Editions. Please visit my website, www.barbaragoldberg.net.
No Small Feat
No small feat for Grief to doff
his mourning cloak, the velvet
heft of it, and its scarlet naught
emblazoned in cross stitches, insignia
for not enough. He might easily
have kept it on, remaining wrapped
in sorrow, for surely there is enough
sorrow in this world to dwell in. If we
could earn a crown for every soul
we found shrouded in despair, why
we'd be richer than a dozen kings!
Which explains why moths grow fat
and tailors are by nature cheerful,
day in, day out, their nimble fingers
stitching habits of our own choosing.
-from Kingdom of Speculation (Accents Publishing, 2015)
©2015 Barbara Goldberg