Poetry by Annick Yerem

                Robert Sarkozi CC



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Notes on aphasia


I used to climb hills with my husband,
freckled and strong, binoculars at the ready.
Look, I´d say:
Mauerläufer. Schneefink. Tannenhäher.

I used to take boats to small islands,
my weary heart skipping a beat
when seals swam beside us,
cliffs came alive under my watchful eye.

Look, I´d say to my daughter
I´ll give you names to describe the world.
Use them wisely, protect what you name:
Puffin. Chiffchaff. Stonechat.

I used to walk through woods
always a rucksack, a bar of chocolate
an apple to clean my teeth
Look! I`d say to my friends:
Rouge gorge. Mésange bleu. Pinson des arbres.

There are pathways in my brain
where I hear these birds. I know
their names, the spell to make them
real, but when I speak, they leave one by one,
relics of words, whispers, no language strong 
enough to hold them.

Look, I say. A bird. Beautiful.




Annick Yerem is a Scottish/German poet who lives and works in Berlin. Annick tweets @missyerem and has been published, among other places, by RiverMouthReview, Anti-Heroin-Chic, Rejection Letters, 192, Eat The Storms podcast, Green Ink Poetry, Open Collab and Sledgehammer Lit. She is currently working on her first chapbook (Hedgehog Press, 2022), St.Eisenberg & The Sunshine Bus.
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