Tea-Strainer
BY JOYELLE MCSWEENEY
Sibyl by Francesco Ubertini, c. 1525
-keep, un-sibyl; if the soul
Has the weight of a swallow
This poem is so lovely the way it begins—not with the oracular women of ancient Greece but with the hiss of the sibilant “s’s.”
We think of the tea leaves and contemplate the future yet “Wait,” we say, as we remind ourselves that the title of the poem is “Tea-Strainer” which evokes what remains—or that that was “formerly, our future.”
What is our future? I just know for me it is personally BIG. It must be because I think of the future a lot—although usually in the sense of worry and woe and not with the buoyancy of hope and excitement.
McSweeney’s poem reminds me of the importance of the moment of living—that the writing of this post will soon be part of my past—as soon will be my trip to India.
I N D I A! but somehow as I get ready to begin the journey today, the future does feel BIG.
#ZEEJaipurLitfFest #India2015
Read more about Joyelle McSweeney here.
Alice-Catherine 