My Ancestors Take the Night Train across Europe

Your sister looks Italian though
my mother says randomly
(though she's always looked very English to me)
or Spanish perhaps,
where does the name Gratrix
come from anyway?

It's an ancient British name I explain
oh she continues well what about Train
that must be Scandinavian?

My paternal Grandmother's maiden name was Gratrix
My mother's maiden name was Train, another ancient British name

My mother's paternal grandfather was a station master and his surname was Train. His son married a Miss Driver. Thankfully they didn't go for a double-barrelled name.

Going Ancestral for Read Write Poem

and yes, that was a real conversation with my mother.

Winter Streets

it has always been
something on the cold
strikes the heart


I only realise now
as I stumble, numbed


winter night stage set streets
siren blue flash police cars pass


it's a lonely road

Book Giveaway

I'm giving away some books over on Crafty Green Poet - to find out what I'm giving away and to join in , please go here.

Advent

Because we no longer believe
we spend months preparing
for a festival
whose true meaning scares us
so we bury it under greed
and gluttony to escape
the cold slanting sadness
that is our fate.