I Stand Here Ironing – Tillie Olsen
‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’ – John Keats, ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’
They will welcome refugees
And ask, Who is my neighbour?
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
I stand here admiring
The greatest affront to them
a handsome Arab father
laughing cooking food to share
abundantly a citizen
of cities that are legend
and living stone his children
planting roses promises
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
I stand here admiring
They will welcome refugees
And ask, Who is my neighbour?
Your place is to have no place
Your face is an enclosure
opened by greater powers
You hold out an empty plate
Petitioner the natural
condition for you loser
They want to feel compassion
They will welcome refugees
And ask, Who is my neighbour?
Beauty is truth, truth beauty
I stand here admiring
The children look like children
in family photographs
of my family could be
children of my family
this should not make a difference
but it does oh subtle fall
all dead are equally real
Author bio: Anthony V. Capildeo OPL is a Trinidadian Scottish writer of poetry and non-fiction. Recent work includes Polkadot Wounds (Carcanet, 2024), and an essay series on touch and mourning. They are Writer in Residence at the University of York.