Heirloom
In the poem “Heirloom” the speaker is reflecting upon his inheritance from his late father, an amount of very personal books important to their Jewish faith and full of their family history. The speaker describes the books in adoring detail, as he is clearly very fond of them and treasures them highly.
In the last two stanzas, the speaker first finds some tobacco traces caught between two pages, ostensibly from when his father was studying the books late at night while smoking. He proudly calls this his father’s legacy, passionately studying the books of their faith, and vows to follow in his father’s footsteps. Finally, he finds a lone white hair from his father’s beard.
For the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu
In this poem, the speaker fondly remembers the nuns working as nurses in the hospital he frequently went to as a child. In the two stanzas the speaker describes their solidarity towards one another, their flawless work ethic and how safe they made him feel as a child. He likens them to birds, as something different to him, with a connection to heaven, as well as angels, who created a heaven on earth for him.
Exultation
The poem “Exultation” is a brief poem, consisting of one stanza, in which the speaker is incredibly joyous about the news that he will see his beloved tonight. The speaker describes how his blood is filled with happiness that races through his entire body, hitting his heart again and again and challenges the reader to find anyone as happy as him at the moment.
Doubt
The poem “Doubt” is a very brief poem, consisting of only two lines in which the speaker fearfully admits that the doubt for his love has grown so strong that he now worries with every kiss that it might be the last.
