The Claddagh Ring

You lost it in

the bathtub.

Too close to the swirling

suck of drain. Water’s

little magnet

to the sewer.

A circle is devoid

of birth & death.

That’s why

we place a

ring around a

finger. Forever

started long

before our bones

had coalesced.

Survives the

dust-to-dust

of mourning chant.

I will make

another—easier

to spot

amid the bubbles.

It will float

upon the surface

to your side,

should an errant

stretch of wrist

bring about its fall,

from its perch

beside the bottle

of L’Oréal,

the one that’s

scented green,

like the forest

where I made

a new replacement,

a twig that hugs itself,

twist-tied like the things

we used to keep our bread

from air, in 6th or 7th grade,

knowing everything is

prone to getting stale—

even friendship, love,

and loyalty,

meeting beneath the

tree

upon the summoning

of a bell, the circle on the

wall which wielded

power to command:

our goings, our comings,

locked within some

ember

of your waning

memory, my every stoke of

fire having failed,

nothing left to forge

once all its breathy

strands of smoke

have petered out.

Andreas Gripp

April 12, 2025

NOTE:

A Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish ring

that signals love, loyalty, and friendship

RF Image