Only a Bed of Water Now by Margaret Duda

Undulating ocean waves
come splashing to shore,
bringing shells, stones,
multi-colored sea glass.

They both had to cross it,
my father in steerage,
my mother in second class,
to meet and make a new life.

Married, they lived near it
and I still say I heard waves
crashing as I was pushed
through the narrow canal.

Many years later, we approach
the time to spread ashes on the bed
of water my parents had to cross
so that waves can rock me to sleep.



Margaret Duda is the daughter of Hungarian immigrants and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She has had poems, short stories, articles, and books published. A book of poetry entitled I Come from Immigrants will be published by Kelsay Books in 2023