From Tsigan, The Gypsy Poem
Copyright © Cecilia Woloch

In Warsaw, blackbird girls
swoop down in flocks
the old town square
a swirl of dark-eyed dark-haired girls
in brilliant skirts who circle
laughing at my waist
throw up their arms
to beg for sweets
who know among the tourists
whom to choose
(how do they know?)
so being chosen, being glad
in any language (tak
means yes)
I let them pick from sticky cakes
behind the glass, the old proprietress
glares back at me
and thinks, Amerykanka, idiotka
but cannot refuse
my cash (how far
in zlotys dollars go!)
so I buy cake for every girl
then watch them fly away again
their small hands sugared, glittering
as if I'd given
jewels to them
the sky above the bitter city
sharp as diamonds then

Cecilia Woloch is the author of three collections of poetry, Sacrifice, Tsigan, and Late. Woloch is the founding director of Summer Poetry in Idyllwild. Active in the Los Angeles literary scene for more than twenty years, she conducts poetry workshops for children, young people and adults throughout the United States and Europe, from public schools and universities to prisons and hospitals. Her community involvement includes launching a poetry outreach program with Communities in Schools of Atlanta and collaborating in the creation of International Living's first Paris Poetry Workshop. She maintains homes in Atlanta and Los Angeles.

These poems are reprinted with permission from Woloch's books, Tsigan, The Gypsy Poem and Sacrifice. Information is available at www.ceciliawoloch.com and the books are available at www.amazon.com. These poems are copyrighted and are reprinted here with the author's permission. They may not be reproduced without permission.

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