How to Dry Herbs by Irina Moga

Poem title: How to Dry Herbs Poet name: Irina Moga Poem Begins: Thyme will need a slant in the evening light, a hook into amber sunbeams – the absence of moonlight adds a bitter edge to it in the hollow dampness of the summer. Oregano is best left alone on the threshold of the dawn, its silvery, iridescent tumescence of leaves, tingling with the whisper of rivulets in winter. Snow agrees with its verdancy and it keeps a cadence of melting on the cusp of this herb’s withering. For basil, beware of dragonflies hidden amid its scent. Place basil bunches under your pillow, if you can bear it, to dream of loves long lost. Blessings always carry forth through in its foliage, no matter the season or the penumbra you face. Rosemary sprigs are to be wrapped up in wax paper, carefully laid out on a corner of the dinner table until they become brittle and resemble cone-pine husks; then you can safely ferry them into a mason jar. There is a tipping point in each flavor, a density of lives lived, if only we could summon it at the end of each unwritten recipe. End of poem. Credits: Copyright © Irina Moga Irina Moga is a Canadian poet, author of five poetry books, and a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC). Sea Glass Circe, her fourth book, was selected for an official launch as part of the 2020 Toronto LitUp!, Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA). A collection of poems written in French, “Variations sans palais,” was published with Éditions L’Harmattan (France) in September 2020. Irina’s work has appeared in literary magazines in Canada and the US, such as: Canadian Literature, carte-blanche, Cloud Lake Literary, PRISM International online, and Poetry Quarterly.