My Father Comes Back from the Dead
By Paula Finn
We find a bench. I sit with him as if I can barely recall what he did to me in bed that night. I let it go for now so we can talk. We’ve always been good at that. He tries out his loony theory about the masculinity of red wine, unaware that since his death the word has holed itself up in a cabin in the woods, loaded for bear. I let it pass. He turns to asking questions freighted with the wish my life’s gone well. I see the old blue kitchen. One Sunday after breakfast, my chin cupped in his palm, his index finger tapping my face to count aloud the freckles, one-by-one. A hundred and two, he beams, as if I’ve won a prize.
Paula Finn is the author of the chapbook, Eating History. Her work has appeared widely in journals. Finn’s poetry is also featured in From the Fire, a piece of musical theater capturing the historic tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the ensuing female immigrant worker organizing. This dramatic oratorio won the Best New Musical Theater award at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. Finn is a graduate of the NYU Poetry Program.
03/13 / Poetry Reading and Conversation with visiting poet-in-residence Hua Xi and local poets Carolina Hospital, Nicole Hospital-Medina, and Holly Iglesias / The BBar at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7-8:30 pm EST / Free
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Heartbreaking and beautiful.