A P R I L 1 9 9 4
THE BODY OF MY BROTHER OSIRIS IS IN THE MUSTARD SEED
by Brooks HaxtonAlso by Brooks Haxton:
From the Greek (1998)
Sanskrit by First Snowfall (1997)
Molybdenum (1995)
Seed from an early Egyptian tomb,
after water damage to the case
in the Historisches Museum,
sprouted in 1955.
That was the year my brother's foot
slipped on spray-wet log.
He was gone
into the whitewater out of sight.
Just downstream
the back of his head
came up
in a narrow chute.
Between terrible rocks
the back of my brother's head
looked wet and small and dark.
I watched it through the roar.
Through tears, afraid
to pray, I told God
he was swimming. Wait.
He would lift his face.
Brooks Haxton teaches the writing of poetry at Syracuse University and Warren
Wilson College. He is the author of Dead Reckoning.
Copyright © 1994 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved.
The Atlantic Monthly; May 1994; The Body of My Brother Osiris Is in the Mustard Seed; Volume 273, No. 5; page 88.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |