Atlantic Canada Poetry Magazine –

"Matriarch" by Kiley Bleich

(Advertisements – Scroll down for the magazine.)

(Begin Magazine)
--
Switch between waxpoetryart.com publications:
Wax Poetry and Art | Weekly Poems | Haiku Imperium
SWAV Poetry | Under 25 Poetry | Young Poets World
Kirk Ramdath presents Visual Art | Photographers from Earth
The Short Play's the Thing | Flash Fiction Takeover

Read and Submit to the Poetry and Art News
Get a Free Writer's Page at Writers, Poets, Playwrights
--

Home | Submissions | Published | About

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Visit waxpoetryart.com to explore poetry (including haiku and spoken word), visual art, photography, play, and fiction submission opportunities. Experience the thrills of the Weekly Poems Contest.

--

May 15th, 2026

Atlantic Canada Poetry Contest #2 – First Place

Matriarch

by Kiley Bleich

The crone speaks something older than language, 
Mute to the untrained ear but music to her daughters and granddaughters –
     the bleeding-heart dove's croon. 
The blue moon casts down upon her pearlescent veil of cobalt hair, intricately spun
     into ringlets by the mothers before her. 
She presides over confetti trees and whispering rivulets –  sturdy in all her
     animal loveliness, the bloody corsage worn proudly upon her chest. 
Her hyacinth ladies twirl in marshes among the will-o'-the-wisp, wardens of her
     fossil heart. 
A braided crown of Queen Anne's lace to wreath her head – hemlock to
     the bull-headed trickster. 
She clutches the sickle between the growth rings in her palm, carving a path home
     through the tall grass.  
She hangs on stars, swaying like a pendulum above the faded dreams of little girls –
     singing her good luck lullaby for their ears only. 
Like Laumė she watches – weaver of the cloth of life. 

Note: Laumė, a woodland spirit.

About the Poet
Kiley Bleich resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications on Kiley Bleich's Artist Page.

This poem is included in Poetry World #15, published in the Wax Poetry and Art Library.

Keywords: Laumė, language, mothers, trickster

Previously published in Atlantic Canada Poetry Magazine:
Grounded
by Kathleen Lutz

Home | Submissions | Published | About

Atlantic Canada Poetry Magazine is part of the Wax Poetry and Art Network.
- Visit the main Wax Poetry and Art Submissions Page to see all opportunities.
- Visit the Wax Poetry and Art Library.
- This website and all contents ©Florencia Bay Books and specified artists.
- AI Training is not permitted on this website.

(End Magazine)
--

(Advertisement)