Sleetmagazine.com

Volume 15 • Number 1 • Spring-Summer 2023

Lucia Cherciu

Given Another Chance

The storm gives advice in the maple tree outside, clutters
the yard with broken branches, loose limbs, abandoned

ambition. Preaches obduracy. Send me some faith,
you said. Given another chance, I would

make a meal for all the hungry guests over the years.
Given another chance, I would have said yes

to all the invitations for a walk, to a group lunch
with my dissertation director. Given another chance,

I would sit down to revise. Lucreazǎ pe text,
one of my favorite teachers used to say,

as in work on the text, keep revising, make changes.
The storm gives advice in the maple tree outside,

clutters the yard with demands, lies, excuses.
Given another chance, I would open the window

to get fresh air in the meeting room. Given another
chance, I would spend two hours a day giving praise,

noticing the glint on the maple tree leaves.
Send me a notebook, you said. Maybe this season

I should buy ten notebooks and send them
to friends who feel abandoned, broken, left out.

Lucia Cherciu writes both in English and in Romanian and is the author of six books of poetry, including “Immigrant Prodigal Daughter” (Kelsay Books, forthcoming 2023), “Train Ride to Bucharest” (Sheep Meadow Press, 2017), a winner of the Eugene Paul Nassar Poetry Prize, Edible Flowers (Main Street Rag, 2015), Lalele din Paradis / Tulips in Paradise (Editura Eikon, 2017), Altoiul Râsului / Grafted Laughter (Editura Brumar, 2010), and Lepădarea de Limbă / The Abandonment of Language (Editura Vinea, 2009). She is the 2021-2022 Dutchess County Poet Laureate, and her work was nominated three times for a Pushcart Prize and three times for Best of the Net. She teaches English at SUNY/Dutchess Community College. Her web page is https://luciacherciu.webs.com; facebook.com/lucia.cherciu.