From “Glossary of Grief”
After Ilya Kaminsky
glossary / глоссарий
“glistening smoothness, luster,” probably
from Scandinavian because light
can only come from elsewhere
we can only come from somewhere
(Днепр Dnepr Дніпро Dnipro
from Sarmatian Dānu apara “river
on the far side” or from Scythian Dānu apr
“deep river” home river birth river tongue river
recollected river mouth river my river river
or else (compare Icelandic glossi “a spark, a flame,”
related to glossa “to flame”) static fire kin
to its rage a kiln to what it hides or holds
noun to the act it carries hole to everything
it’s missing a river to a river name
to obsolete Dutch gloos “a glowing” from
Middle High German glos; probably ultimately
from the same source as English glow
the tongue returns else-
where it’s never been Late Latin glossa
“obsolete or foreign word” one that requires
explanation more words and light and rivers
from Greek glōtta (Attic) “language, a tongue”
literally “the tongue” (as the organ of speech)
as organ of song as golos голос
from Old Church Slavonic glogu “thorn”
voice vox our mouths river
our mouths sing stinging
singer / poet
in your mouth
the world is made
and out of it
song / poem
even without voice or hands
or birds their throats their bones
turned pens even without blood
has always been ink and music
sign / language
to sing as your hands sing holding
the makings of us in the space
between signifier and signified
your mouth a strange sign
singing signing
witness / _______
to bear the ness “action, quality,
or state” of wit “knowledge”
to bear meaning “carry, bring”
in your hands and mouth
from root bher- “carry
a burden” meaning “bring forth,
give birth, produce” in your body
more bodies to bear meaning I walked
the earth bearing my dead
I walked bearing my son’s body
I walked meaning “endure
without resistance” meaning
imagine an earth soft enough
to bear us “support, hold up,
sustain” meaning almost
survive to witness
meaning “affix one’s
signature [body] to
(a document [earth])
to establish identity”
refugee
meant single action
“to take shelter to
protect” until
it meant indefinite
action “seeking
asylum” until
it meant “one
fleeing home”
a body until
it meant no home
is left
for us
to flee from
body / tело / telo
Related to: able-
body disem-
body anti-
body any-
body
bod
bodice bodi-
less body-
bag body-
builder body-
guard busy-
body em-
body every-
body home-
body no-
body some-
body telo
body tell all
body tell me
body tell
the body any
body tells
peace / mир / world / mир
pes “freedom from / / a nation”
even as it slips / from a severed tongue
/ from Old French pais “/ / / silence”
even as mouth splits / “permission” / to home
what’s left / of body and song / from Latin pacem
“ / / / / absence /
of war” root *pag- “fasten”
root *mei- “bind” root tree without roots
root мир / without мир see / pact / on the notion
of “binding together” / see
how it replaced Old English for “happiness”
with what has never been
death
when Orpheus looked back
the body / soul he loved vanished
just / forever out of touch / reach
his mouth hung open
singing / wailing / wanting / pleading
the music stop
and every god listened
and every god stayed silent
and still we keep singing
Source: Poetry (September 2022)