2 poems by A.R. Salandy : Mom’s Cranberry Cake & Rage Poem

Mom’s Cranberry Cake

first published in Dwelling Lit 2020

Every winter I waited in anticipation
For the scent of rising cinnamon
To convert our little home
Into a fantastically warmed land-

Where cranberries would simmer
In the auburn pot where sugar bubbled
And berries twirled as they burst
So gently to the stove top fire

That summoned my mother to action,

But when the cranberries appeared soft
Only then would she prepare
The sumptuous cake for which we desired
All through hoary nights

That gave way to only more frigid dawns,

And as the baking commenced
Did my mother sit and marvel
At the creation only she could make,
As if a miracle of margarine-

My mother was the buttery buttress 
That cushioned the shocks
That shook our resilience
Only to suppress her own,

Much like the growing cake
That now rested as it cooled
Just above that worn oven
That served as a reminder

For maternal sacrifice in domesticity. 

Rage

‘Rage on’ cried cryptic skies
That howled a night terror’s lullaby
As waves beat mighty boats
And drowned out all humanity,

For lustrous skies were long gone
As salted air began to consume
Fading hearts deep in oceans vast,

But soon that cryptic abuse grew starlit
As waves ceased in their fight
And winds calmed as the long departed
Were rocked into gentle slumber

Deep in a world concealed and murky.



Bio: Anthony is a Black Mixed-race poet & writer who has spent most of his life in the Middle East jostling between the UK & America. Anthony's work has been published 215 times internationally. Anthony has 2 published chapbooks titled 'The Great Northern Journey' 2020 (Lazy Adventurer Publishing) & 'Vultures' 2021 (Roaring Junior Press) as well as a novel 'The Sands of Change' 2021 (Alien Buddha Press). Anthony's Chapbook 'Half Bred' is the Winner of the 2021 'The Poetry Question' Chapbook contest. Anthony is the Co-EIC of Fahmidan Journal & Poetry Editor at Chestnut ReviewTwitter/Instagram: @arsalandy https://arsalandywriter.com/
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