Pigments of Life

Enfolded in her soft ebony fingers
Warmed by the life running through her veins
She traces her hand along the lacquered contour
Following the curves and plunges of the smooth hard surface
Her nimble hands repainting it, smoothing out complexities
Engraving meaning past the surface and deep into the grain
Her honey voice speaks new words yet tells the same story
Your mother and your father, they’re here
Engraved in the dense wood
Painted onto the pigment
Embedded deep inside you
For as long you have this
You will always have us
To protect you

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This poem was highly commended for Poetry Object 2013

Judge's notes:
This poem uses its object, a wooden carving made by a beloved older relative, to illustrate the narrator’s connection to her family. By focusing on the relative’s hands as well as the object being carved, and by the repeated use of words like “enfold”, “engrave”, and “embed”, the poet endows the object with a tremendous amount of warmth and love.

~ Rachael Briggs, Judge, Poetry Object 2013