Sleep Patterns for Seamus Heaney by Catherine Graham

March 9, 2022
Poem name: Sleep Patterns for Seamus Heaney Poet name: Catherine Graham Poem begins: We hold sleep patterns for him. Clip flowers from seeds; mist hours from worries into a line’s heartbeat. Tears are rinsers, not energy takers. Never waterfalls. We don’t envy his gift, we coax something out— Take me, for instance, my dead mother’s voice— You’re a game changer, a post-autumn woman. End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Catherine Graham Previously published in The Belfield Literary Review (University College Dublin) iamb: poetry seen and heard Catherine Graham’s most recent book, Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric, was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and The Celery Forest was named a CBC Best Book of the Year and was a finalist for the Fred Cogswell Award. Her Red Hair Rises with the Wings of Insects was a finalist for the Raymond Souster Award and CAA Poetry Award. A previous winner of the Toronto International Festival of Authors’ Poetry NOW, she leads their monthly Book Club. Graham teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto. Her second novel, The Most Cunning Heart, appears spring 2022. www.catherinegraham.com @catgrahampoet