Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “valentine’s misery” by Ryan O’Neil.

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valentine’s misery

By Ryan O’Neil

my mother came to this country

on feb 14. 1994.

all alone.

left me at home.

landed to a snow storm,

stranded at the airport.

so the story goes.

31 years later,

now that she’s behind the veil,

wading through the snow to get groceries

free in this land, blue passport, health care.

bones creaking under added pressure, adjusting

to the snow banks and divots left from other boots

who had to brave the cold and that everlasting

hill up to the supermarket, hill up to the promised land.

31 years later,

now she’s left me at home, all alone, again,

gone beyond the veil,

I wonder if the food run was worth it.

maybe now I finally feel the weight of her sacrifice,

separation from my mom, separation from her son,

a world away from her sun.

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Copyright © Ryan O’Neil

Ryan O’Neil is a Jamaican born, Toronto based artist. A champion of diverse expression, Ryan pivoted from a career rooted in analytical statistics to literary, visual, and performance art, viewing every medium of his life as an avenue for poetry. Ryan is a collector of the tiny bits of magic in ordinary moments. For him inspiration isn’t a rare lightning strike but rather the constant quiet hum of life itself.

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