Michael Minassian
Poetry
Michael Minassian is a contributing editor for Verse-Virtual, an online poetry journal. His poetry collections Time is Not a River, Morning Calm, and A Matter of Timing as well as a new chapbook, Jack Pays a Visit, are all available on Amazon. For more information: https://michaelminassian.com
The Cathedral of Time
When my uncle died,
my aunt smashed
all the clocks in the house,
unplugged the TV
& her telephone,
hung mirrors on every wall.
In case he comes back,
she whispered,
I want to see him first.
When I offered to drive
her to the cathedral,
she handed me the keys:
keep your foot on the gas,
she cried, I don’t want to be late.
At the service,
the priest talked
about resurrection,
& families re-uniting—
a brief window into eternity.
I walked away
scattering broken
pieces of clocks,
like rice at a wedding
of time and death.
“ After my uncle’s funeral, I thought about the Jewish tradition of covering all the mirrors in the house during the shiva. Although some Armenians may also cover mirrors after a death, this was never a part of my family’s traditions. When I conceived of the poem, I wondered about the opposite: suppose mirrors were placed on every wall to catch a last glimpse of the departed. ”