{"id":1045,"date":"2016-11-28T06:07:44","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T06:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2021-07-06T12:44:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T12:44:59","slug":"sword-of-glass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/","title":{"rendered":"Sword of Glass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was my father\u2019s father
who at last came to dinner from far away,
gulped a whiskey, grinned, and said When I have a whiskey,<\/em>
 I feel like I\u2019m a new man & then the new man wants one, too<\/em>
my father pouring another & the new, new man
also wanting a whiskey <\/p>\n\n\n\n

who tucked me in after dinner whispering,
You must go right to sleep, because if you don\u2019t,<\/em>
when sleep does come, night will expand <\/em>
& become a great mass, mold will grow on you, <\/em>
& in the morning, the sunlight will cut you <\/em>
like a sword of glass, & you\u2019ll never again <\/em>
be able to jump up and down. <\/em>
& he clicked off the light<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who for my 13th<\/sup> birthday at his apartment
set out a platter of prunes smoked meats pickled herring
horseradish jam poppy seed rye from which I assembled
a smoked meat sandwich & as I bit growled,
If you don\u2019t like pickled herring, you should tell me <\/em>
& next time I won\u2019t order it. You don\u2019t know what it means <\/em>
to be a Jew. You imagine a heaven, sky that shines like a fish, <\/em>
& the sound of the surface rasp of the sea, but this<\/em>
is a sorrowful world of fat-free cheese, & recumbent bicycles, <\/em>
of Christian Science & lonely reflections, of old plow horses\u2014<\/em>
sullen, worn & indifferent to the whip. The meadows shun those horses!<\/em>
Everything stings! Everyone cries!<\/em> & he threw the platter onto the floor\u2014
prunes, jam, meat, all of it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who dressed like a Turkish pimp for Marsh & Jennifer\u2019s wedding,
silk tie painted with women\u2019s faces & palm trees, shouting
when Marsh stomped the glass, Pop goes the hymen! <\/em>
& washed down two shrimp cocktails with bourbon commanding,
Let us all feast on pie! Rhubarb. Mince. Spanakopita.<\/em>
waving the menu, calling the waiter, Where is the King of Pie? <\/em>
smacking a fist on the table, Bring us kingly pie! <\/em>
Pie for the women in evening gowns, pie for the bride & groom<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

who, leaning over, took my hand, & speaking softly
& only to me, said, Your father told you I fled the East<\/em>
to avoid conscription, but I fled because I killed a man<\/em>
who called me Brudny \u017byd\u2014a Dirty Jew. <\/em>
I was fifteen. You can trust the forest, <\/em>
but people are chiselers & wolves. Fuck them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

who, when I entered his hospital room,
asked the rest of the family to leave, saying
Sit with me. I can do nothing else.<\/em>
Skin rashen from whisky & sugar, he grasped my arm,
The River Pishon used to wind like a snake through the larch & pine. <\/em>
You\u2019ve never seen the boreal forests & soon they\u2019ll be gone. <\/em>
If I were young I\u2019d disregard the speakable world <\/em>
& only study the sinuosities of women <\/em>
& he looked out the window, whispering
more to himself than me,
Life is sunlight held together by blood, <\/em>
the words drafting like seagulls through motionless air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I walked out to the exhausting allure of another day,
to grass the height of the moon, to other, older family faces
appearing at random on petals, bridges, boulders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Pleiades<\/em>, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Sword of Glass<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was my father\u2019s father who at last came to dinner from far away, gulped a whiskey, grinned, and said When I have a whiskey,  I feel like I\u2019m a new man & then the new man wants one, too my father pouring another & the new, new man also wanting a whiskey who tucked … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Sword of Glass”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSword of Glass - Peter Schireson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sword of Glass - Peter Schireson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It was my father\u2019s father who at last came to dinner from far away, gulped a whiskey, grinned, and said When I have a whiskey,  I feel like I\u2019m a new man & then the new man wants one, too my father pouring another & the new, new man also wanting a whiskey who tucked … Continue reading "Sword of Glass"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peter Schireson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-28T06:07:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-06T12:44:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/\",\"name\":\"Sword of Glass - Peter Schireson\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-28T06:07:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-06T12:44:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f40c30243a158d12eb24cba388a31b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg\",\"width\":630,\"height\":670},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sword of Glass\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/\",\"name\":\"Peter Schireson\",\"description\":\"Poet and Painter\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f40c30243a158d12eb24cba388a31b\",\"name\":\"Peter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe55082454fdb92d90d1ac3afb715c17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe55082454fdb92d90d1ac3afb715c17?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/author\/peter\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sword of Glass - Peter Schireson","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sword of Glass - Peter Schireson","og_description":"It was my father\u2019s father who at last came to dinner from far away, gulped a whiskey, grinned, and said When I have a whiskey,  I feel like I\u2019m a new man & then the new man wants one, too my father pouring another & the new, new man also wanting a whiskey who tucked … Continue reading \"Sword of Glass\"","og_url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/","og_site_name":"Peter Schireson","article_published_time":"2016-11-28T06:07:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-06T12:44:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":630,"height":670,"url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Peter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/","url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/","name":"Sword of Glass - Peter Schireson","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-28T06:07:44+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-06T12:44:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f40c30243a158d12eb24cba388a31b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_2182.jpg","width":630,"height":670},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/sword-of-glass\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sword of Glass"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/","name":"Peter Schireson","description":"Poet and Painter","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f40c30243a158d12eb24cba388a31b","name":"Peter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe55082454fdb92d90d1ac3afb715c17?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe55082454fdb92d90d1ac3afb715c17?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter"},"url":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/author\/peter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1045"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1742,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions\/1742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterschireson.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}