A Song to Rest the Tired Dead
Raine Geoghegan
In memory of Celia Lane
it is dusk
she has come to wash the body
a table is set by the bed
a bowl of lavender water
clean muslin cloths
a white towel
‘too young for death’
she thinks as she removes all the clothing
and jewellery from the body of her niece
she notices stretch marks on the thighs
how the breasts have dropped
from feeding the chavies
‘forty years ago, just been borned
sucking at her Daya’s breast.’
taking a cloth
she dips it in water
squeezes it hard in her hand
sets about her task
malts stand by the door way
aunts, daughters, sisters and the mother
singing in low soft voices
a song to rest the dead
she speaks quietly
to her loved one as she gently cleans
lifting one arm up then the other
holding it
placing it down carefully
as if it was made of glass
the others won’t move too close
it is mokkadi to do so
this woman who washes the dead
now holds both feet
letting them rest for a while
blessing them for all the miles
they have trod the earth
she dresses her niece in the finest of clothes
combs her dark tangled hair
places the gold chain and earrings in the
palm of the right hand
puts the wedding ring back on
the third finger of the left hand
‘such small fingers’
bending forward, kisses them
‘you are ready now, my gel, sov well’
Romani words
Chavies – children
Daya – mother
Malts – women
Mokkadi – unclean
RAINE GEOGHEGAN, MA in in Creative Writing appeared at the Ledbury Poetry Festival in July 2018 at the Market Theatre. She previewed her debut poetry pamphlet ‘Apple Water – Povel Panni’ alongside the film ‘Stories from the Hop Yards’, in which she appears. The pamphlet will be officially launched in November 2018 by Hedgehog Press. Her work has appeared both online and in print in journals such as Under the Radar; Anima Poetry Press; Fair Acre Press; The Travellers Times; The Clearing; Words for the Wild and others. Raine lives in West Sussex.