September 2020
Bio Note: Fatima was written in a quiet time in the world, speaking to my own personal needs for
healing, taking those to the shrine at Fatima. Now, I offer it here as away for many to heal from all the grief
we are under due to Covid and the other tragedies of 2020. False Grapes speaks to September harvest—in this
case a false one—something that appears to be offering a gift but is not—and we must find our own way to slake our thirst.
At Fatima
Against darkness— of loss of grief we lit a candle for her brother, my son. We breathed in the subtle sweetness of beeswax around us. Our candle's flame sent a small orb of hope into a shadowy corner of the shrine. I smiled.
Originally published in The Lake, UK, 2017
False Grapes
When we first drove up
the winding drive of our new home,
and spotted dangling bunches
of purple along the fence,
I entertained visions
of stomping grapes,
of bottling the rich
red juice after fermented
and drinking it in crystal
glasses on the patio overlooking
that same pasture fenceline.
I soon realized not even
a small harvest would be won
from this snaking line of purple
Wisteria dangling
indolently from the fence
along the drive and property lines.
Over the years, I’ve come to value
their beauty, that they bloom
requiring no effort on my part,
their show of color mine
to enjoy as I sit on my patio
sipping grocery store wine.
©2020 Joan Leotta
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